Hyderabad: Holding a mirror to society, a recent report has revealed that 30 per cent of girls from economically backward classes have never stepped into a classroom. They, along with school dropouts, have become soft targets for exploitation by labour markets.
When it comes to the total number of girls who have not been enrolled in schools, the figure stands at 13.5 per cent. This figure, though grave, can be considered an improvement because a decade ago it was more than 20 per cent, according to data from the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER).
From those girls who are enrolled in school in the age group 15 to 16, 59 per cent are enrolled in government schools and 26.9 per cent are in private schools. More numbers of boys are in private schools of the same age group than girls, which is 31.2 per cent. The phenomenon of sending girls to government schools and boys to private schools still seems to continue.
Mr Ambarish Rai, national convener of Right To Education Forum, said, “Absence of enough secondary schools is one of the reasons. Students are forced to travel long distances to reach the schools. For girls, it is more difficult due to the social structure and security threats in rural areas. All of them cannot afford education in nearby private schools as well.”
In 2018, 11.8 per cent of schools did not have seperate toilets for girls, a key reason behind drop outs. Around 25 per cent of schools did not have electricity, so the scope for computer education in those schools was almost negligible, according to ASER.
Overall, there are 6 crore children who are out of schools in India, which is the highest in any country globally. Children are dropping out and are compelled to participate in forced labour.
There were demands from various forums fighting for education, that the government should include children from all age groups into its purview, apart from the 6-14 age group, so that education could become universal. This was necessary so that there would be development in pre-primary and higher secondary schools as well.
Many of those who were able to access schools leave without the knowledge and skills they need to enter the labour markets. ASER data reveals secondary school children's foundational reading and math abilities are poor. The average achievement scores of Class V students have declined in all subjects between 2011 and 2014.
Experts said that quality education could counteract the social factors that hinder women's labour market participation. Earnings increase by approximately 10 per cent for each additional year of schooling - meaning that education not only helps to grow the economy but also fights poverty.
According to the report, education serves as an important tool to empower women and girls, and is one of the most powerful investments to prevent child marriage and early pregnancy. With each year of secondary education, the likelihood of marrying as a child before the age of 18 reduces by five percentage points.
Given the circumstances, it becomes difficult to reach the Sustainable Development Goals, one of which says, by 2030 countries should 'ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development and care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education'.
The same kind of scenario is present in the world as well, according to Unesco estimates, 13 crore girls between the ages of 6 and 17 are out of school in the world and 15 million girls of primary-school age do not have proper access to education.
As per the World Bank, every day, girls face barriers to education caused by poverty, cultural norms and practices, poor infrastructure, violence, and fragility. Girls' education is a strategic development priority. Better educated women tend to be healthier, participate more in the formal labour markets, earn higher incomes, have fewer children, marry at a later age, and enable better health care and education for their children, should they choose to become mothers. All these factors combined can help lift households, communities, and nations out of poverty.
