The Problem of Girls Education and the Role of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: A Case from Odisha (India)

Abstract

Female deities are worshipped yet women are denied their rights to get education in India. There are several reasons for the low levels of literacy in India; the foremost cause is the high level of poverty. Over one-third of the population is estimated to be living below the poverty line (The World Bank, 1997). Although school attendance is free, the costs of books, uniforms and transportation to school can be a limiting factor for poor families. The other limiting factor is gender. In comparison to education of a daughter, preference is given to the education of a son. In Odisha, enrolment of girls has increased at an annual rate of 7 per cent at the primary level between 1950-51 and 2000-01 compared to 4.9 per cent among boys, and at upper primary level, girls’ enrolment increased at a rate above 10 per cent as compared to 5.9 per cent among boys. According to NFHS-2, the school attendance rate was 66.66 per cent for females against 77.2 per cent for males in 1988-99. Not much difference was found in male attendance rate between rural and urban areas in 1989-99, whereas about 10 per cent point difference was found in case of females between rural and urban areas. Inspite of the monetary investment in the girl’s education by the government, the level of girls’ education is not commensurate with the general literacy level. This situation creates a major problem for both the development of the country and its social condition. Thus, an attempt has been made to analyse the girls’s education and the role of SSA in Indian state of Odisha.

Keywords: Girls, Education, SSA, NPEGEL, Dropout, Keonjhar