Despite the Gujarat government’s tall claims, the state has performed fairly badly when it comes to girl’s education. Gujarat government’s state-sponsored drives on education, namely Kanya Kelavni and Gunotsav, have failed to make any impact on school children.
The Sample Registration System-Baseline Survey 2014 reveals that Gujarat (with 73.4 per cent of girls in school) is at the 20th position among 21 major states, just a notch above Rajasthan (72.1 per cent) reported Times Of India.
Shocking as it is, Gujarat is ranked among the bottom five states even when it comes to education of girls in the age group of 10-14 years. Even the other states which are considered backward have registered a better rank.
The top 5 states in girl education are: Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Jammu & Kashmir. While the bottom 5 states are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
These are the findings of the survey:
- 73.5 per cent of girls in the state are literate, but of these, around 59 per cent have not studied beyond class X, and only 14.8 per cent have completed class XII. Of the 14.8 per cent who study beyond class X, only 7.3 per cent complete graduation.
- So, around 26.6 per cent of girls in the age group of 15-17 years in Gujarat have either dropped out or have never been to school.
- Comparison with other states: In Bihar, 83.3 per cent of girls in the age group 15-17 years attend school; in Assam the figure is 84.8 per cent; in Jharkhand it is 84.1 per cent; in Chhattisgarh it is 90.1 per cent; in Madhya Pradesh it is 79.2 per cent; in UP it is 79.4 per cent; and in Odisha it is 75.3 per cent.
- The all-India average of girls attending school is 83.8 per cent, which is higher than Gujarat’s by about 10 per cent.
Commenting on the survey, Gujarat education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasma said,
“We are aware that the drop out rate among girls is high and hence we launched the enrolment drive even in class IX. We are taking measures to ensure that girls study and the government is dedicated to achieving 100 per cent literacy among the girls.”