Gujarat Muslim literacy, education experience relative decline in the last decade, says expert

A recent research paper, "An Analysis of Education in Gujarat" by Sourindra Ghosh, has reached the drastic conclusion that though traditionally Muslim literacy rate in Gujarat has been better than the all-India average, in recent years it is showing a very slow increase. In fact, if the researcher is to be believed, "Gujarat's Muslim literacy rate relative to overall literacy" has lately experienced a decline. Ghosh, who works with Sewa Bharat in New Delhi, and has extensively been involved in several education related research works, says, "According to Census, in 2001 Muslim literacy rate was 73.5 per cent", which was higher than the overall liveracy rate of 69.1 per cent.
However, "according to the National Sample Survey Organisation's (NSSO's) 64th round figure, Muslim literacy rate in Gujarat increased marginally to 74.3 per cent, resulting in worsening off of Muslim literacy rate compared to Gujarat's overall literacy rate of 74 per cent at that time." The research paper finds its way in a recent authoritative study, "Poverty amidst Prosperity: Essays on the Trajectory of Development in Gujarat", edited by Prof Atul Sood of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. The study is a collection of a dozen research articles on Gujarat.
The researcher believes that an analysis of the Muslim literacy rate acquires significance in view of what he calls "Muslim minority question in Gujarat" becoming one of the "burning issues of our national discourse." Hence it "demands a special attention", even as analysing the educational status from the gender and caste perspective. The author says that while overall literacy rates of Muslims in Gujarat may be better than the correspending figures for the country as a whole, things are really worse off for its poorer sections.
Ghosh says, in Gujarat's rural regions, the "literacy rates of non-upper caste Muslims (that is, SCs, STs and OBC Muslims) is lower than the corresponding all-India figure." Quoting NSSO figures, the author adds, these are 57.38 per cent for non-upper caste Muslims of the rural areas as against the corresponding figure of 59.71 per cent for the country as a whole. As for urban areas, the corresponding figures for Gujarat are 80.67 per cent, while these are 71.97 per cent for the country as a whole. The average comes to 67.44 per cent for Gujarat and 63.85 per cent for the country.
What is even more interesting is that at the school level percentage of Muslims attending educational institions in Gujarat is lower than the overall state average. Thus, 89.1 per cent Muslims attend school in the age group 6-10 age group, while the state average for all the social groups is 92.5 per cent. In the age group 11-14, this gap drastically goes up in Gujarat -- just about 60.4 per cent Muslims attend school as against the state average of all social groups of 79.3 per cent. What is further interesting is that at the all-India level 71.6 per cent of Muslims attend school in the age group 11-14 -- suggesting a huge gap of 11.2 per cent. again.
Ghosh says, the analysis suggests that the social disparities are "more often than not are are higher in Gujarat regarding educational outcomes, participation and access" as compared other "progressive states", as well as the all-India level. His data, in fact, suggest that it is not just Muslims who are at the receiving at as far as education is concerned. The situation is true for other backward sections as well. Gender disparities are very sharp, in fact sharper than Haryana, which is known for gender disparities.
To quote the researcher, "In Gujarat male literacy rate stands at 84.75 per cent as compared to 64.8 per cent for the females. The difference is thus of 20 percentage points which is higher than the gap in literacy at the national level. This gap is higher in Gujarat in comparison with similar states like Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu." He adds, what is equally disconcerting is that the gender gap is even higher in Gujarat than these states both at the primary and above primary level school going children.

Comments

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.

Powering pollution, heating homes: Why are Delhi residents opposing incineration-based waste management

While going through the 50-odd-page report Burning Waste, Warming Cities? Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Incineration and Urban Heat in Delhi , authored by Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran of the well-known advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability, I came across a reference to Sukhdev Vihar — a place where I lived for almost a decade before moving to Moscow in 1986 as the foreign correspondent of the daily Patriot and weekly Link .

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.

Search This Blog