Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav: Bridging the gender gap in primary education

NEW DELHI: The wide gap between male and female literacy in India at the time of Independence was a stark reminder of the extent of gender inequality in the country.

Even though the overall literacy rate in India was quite poor at just over 18%, the female literacy rate was at an abysmally low 8.86%.

But in decades since Independence, India has done well to change the equation. So much so that now girls have outnumbered boys when it comes to school education.

With India marking its 75th Independence Day, the government recently released data which shows how girls have outshined boys in receiving primary school education.


From the gender parity index (GPI) of 0.41 in 1950-51 to 1.02 in 2020-21, India has shown excellent progress in bridging the wide gender gap in school education.

GPI refers to the ratio of number of girl students to the number of boy students enrolled in a given stage of education.

According to government figures, there has been a dramatic increase of girls enrolled in educational institutions from schools to colleges and universities over the past years.

Moreover, while the number of girls in schools steadily increased in the 1990s and early 2000s as a result of programs like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the mid-day meal scheme, there has also been a dizzying expansion in the number of girls entering higher education.