by Dr. Y.P. Gupta
An the Delhi declaration at the location for all” summit of nine countries, the goal of universal primary education of girls by the tum of the century was placed on the top of the agenda.
was described that girl education would contribute to social Development. It is reported that nearly S 5 billion would be required to achieve universal primary education by 2000 AD, It was, therefore, emphasized that these nations must raise financial Resources to meet the goal.
These nine countries account for more than half of the world’s population, and 70 percent of the adults are illiterates. According to UNESCO, nearly 70 million children in these countries do not get primary education and this number may cross 83 million in the near future, if the present trend continues.
‘There is no doubt that educational facilities in India have increased manifold, but the country continues to lag behind in providing primary education even 46 years after independence. The ‘overall literacy rate has increased from 18.33 per cent in 1951 to 52.19 percent in 1991 and that of female literacy from 8.86 percent 1039.19 percent, lisreporicd that nearly 50 per cent students drop out before reaching class V; such dropouts being higher among girls (49.69 percent at the primary and 68.31 per cent at the upper primary Level). A recent study has shown that girls in 50 countries. Including India, lag behind boys in respect of education, and their enrollment in primary and secondary schools is lower by 76 million than boys number in India being 33 million. ‘The Central African nation of Chad has the lowest ranking of 21 for every 100 boys. India’s ranking is 50.4_/France and Canada, where girls average more than 11 years of schooling, top the list ranking above 99. In China, the world’s most populated country. 86 females are enrolled for every 100 boys in primary schools and 73 per 100 in secondary schools. the India, elementary education in the low status groups remains be yon the reach of girls, At ancarlyge, girls are cruised with do mastic responsibilities and other work to support the family with Small earnings. More than 60 million girls in the SAARC countries do not get primary education and the majority do not complete their schooling. AS a result, more than half of the illiterates in the 59 nye group are girls. 1is quite high in U.P.,M.P., Bihar and Rajasthin but Kerala is the only state where there is universal literacy. The declining ratio of females to males from 933 in 1981 10. 924 in 1991 in India shows that altitudes and conditions have not changed, This decline in the female population is largely due to the abnormal number of female deaths in early childhood. According to UNICEF, 12 million girls are born in India every year of which 25 percent do not survive beyond the age of 1S. About three Jakh more girls die annually than boys. It is common in India that the birth of a female child is taken as misfortune and disappointment. The medical terminationo£40,000 female focuses in 1984 in Bombay alone is a case in point and shows lo what lengths peopic go to avoid the birth of a girl child. Maharashtra has banned the practice of gender linked abortions but it continues clandestinely there and elsewhere. A recent report says that sex tests have been killing 3,500 focuses every year in Jaipur alone, Even the steps initiated by the Tamil Nadu Government to render financial assistance to select parents and the cradle baby” scheme have failed to curb female infanticide in that state.
It is most disturbing that even four decades after independence, the girl child in India continues to be exploited and subjected to discriminatory practices. She is neglected and docs not receive ad equate nourishment for her physical and mental development. Consequently, a large number of girls die of malnutrition. Proper treat ment of ailments, particularly in factious diseases is lacking. ‘The number of girl deaths per 1,000 live binhs up to the age of five years is higher than those of miles, The respective numbers arc 172. and 160 in rural areas and 98 und 92 in Cities. Caste, religion and region also influence this rate. Society has also created a state of Slavish dependence and submissiveness for the girls who survive. IL is not uncommon for the male child in the family to receive more nutritious food than the female child. It has been found that girls in the age group of 13 to 16 receive less than two thirds of the recommended caloric intake. Owing to. dietary insufficiency, girls fall a prey to a variety of illnesses and do not achieve their full height and weight potential. Diarrhea is the most common disease. Due to vulnerability to infectious diseases and lack of timely medical attention, female morality rate is higher than the male, social practices have further aggravated the situation, Early child marriages are one of them, The International Planned Parenthood Federation has recently responded that the marriage age of three million girls in India out of four million marriages is below 18. The 1981 census showed that the average age of marriage of “currently married women” in the country was 16.7 years. The trend is particularly bad in Bihar, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, where 50 per cent of girls are married at or be;, fore the age of 16. This is so de Spite a law banning marriage of girls before 18 and the efforts of government and voluntary agencies to educate people about ad vantages of late marriage. Early marriage brings about early child bearing and frequent pregnancies Tesulling in physical stress and underweight babies. This in turn accounts for a high infant mortality rate. This thus important that care of the girl child must get priority in health, nutrition and education, Alleviation of poverty, universal primary education for all as com mitted by the international community at the Delhi summit and removing gender disparities, particularly in the rural areas, must get priority in Third World development programmers to initiate a process of social change for improving social status of girls and women in society.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 2, 1994
