When girls outdo boys

Why do girls outstrip boys every time? Yes, this time again boys are lagging behind by about 12 per cent in the CBSE Class XIIresults in the Capital. This year, the pass percentage was 81.22 for girls as compared to 68.75 for boys. Although both sexes have shown an improvement in results, the gap has remained consistent. Over the last few years, girls have established a trend of thrashing boys in the Board exams, which validates that girls are no more the weaker sex.Explaining the reason behind this change, Dr Jitendra Nagpal, psychiatrist, VIMHANS, says, "There is a lot of emphasis on female empowerment these days. Then, the social changes in the past few years have contributed to an increase in the responsibilities of a female child, which calls for her recognition. While correlating responsibilities or commitments to education, a girl takes it as a forum of expression and tries her best to excel in it. "Also, family system has changed. Nuclear set-up is contributing a lot to a girl's progress," he adds. But why are boys lagging behind, year after year, though they are provided better facilities and opportunities? "The reason is a high-level of distraction among boys," says Mamta Sharma, education counsellor, DPS, R K Puram. "Indicators of bad performance in board results are strongly associated with globalisation. High internet use with a large amount of time being spent with entertainment media are the major causes of distraction," Sharma adds. Priyanka Kapoor, a 92 per cent scorer of Class XII science stream, Mother's International School, felt proud of the performance of females in the past few years. She remarks, "Girls perform better because they are more hard-working and dedicated. They know how to prioritise their responsibilities." However, consultant psychologist, Kamakshi Vashisht gives credit to mothers. According to her, mothers, today, did not want their daughters to suffer in future and hence they did their best to educate them. "Girls are more painstaking. They are more homeward bound and devote more time to studying while boys are more outward bound and believe in 'masti'," Vashisht says. When questioned, boys felt that girls were more mature. A Class XII science stream student of Modern School Barahkhambha Road, who had scored 95.2 per cent, Ashmeet Kapoor says, "Girls are outshining boys, for they have lesser distractions and higher maturity levels. Undoubtedly, girls are more diligent and responsible." A Pol Sc (Hons), ARSD College student, Argho Chakraborty said that girls were into constructive things, while boys were not. Given the male-dominated society, girls wanted to prove themselves, which was a positive sign, he felt.