Gujarat on backfoot in sending ST, SC, OBC females to educational institutions, suggests top NSS report

In the Rann of Kutch: Photograph by Pankti Jog

By Rajiv Shah

In an alarming revelation, a September 2012 report, prepared by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), has suggested huge gaps in the female education levels of Gujarat, especially among those belonging to the three socially-deprived groups, scheduled tribes (STs), schedules castes (SCs) and other backward classes (OBCs). Findings have been reported the NSS report, “Employment and unemployment situation among social groups in India”. The survey (rural plus urban) results show that in the age-group 5-14, 75.1 per cent ST females attended any educational institution; this dropped to 22.4 per cent in the age-group 15-19, and further to 1.8 per cent in the age-group 20-24. If the survey results are to be believed, there isn’t much of a difference for SCs and OBCs, either. Worse, in each of these social groups, Gujarat ranks among rock-bottom Indian states as far as females attending educational institutions are concerned.
Among SCs, 71.2 per cent females in the age-group 5-14 were found to be attending an educational institution, which is down to 18 per cent in the age-group 15-19, and further to 7.2 per cent in the age-group 20-24. As for OBCs, 78 per cent females attended an educational institution in the age-group 5-14; this went down to 23.8 per cent in the age-group 15-19, and further to 2.5 per cent in the age-group 20-24. While in every state the percentage females, attending an educational institution, goes down with a higher age-group, things are not as bad as with Gujarat. One can safely conclude that the Narendra Modi government’s drive to create an awareness to educate young females through the Kanya Kelavni drive, begun in 2004, has miserably failure. The state policy makers would do well to do some re-thinking about their strategy to send babus for just three days every year for the drive. No followup action is ever contemplated. Help from voluntary agencies is never sought.
One can see inter-state comparisons to show where Gujarat stands. First about STs; as against 75.1 per cent female STs attend an educational institution in Gujarat in the age-group 5-14, all states fared better than Gujarat with the exception of Andhra Pradesh with 69 per cent and Rajasthan with 70.2 per cent. Even Bihar was found to be sending 76.9 per cent ST females in this age group to an educational institution. Other states’ percentage is also worth noting – Odisha 86.6 per cent, Assam 86.9 per cent, Chhattisgarh 84.7 per cent, Jharkhand 81.9 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 83 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 87.4 per cent, and so on. In the age-group 15-19, Gujarat is, again, found to be ranking fourth from the bottom, with only Odisha (11.4 per cent), West Bengal (21.1 per cent) and Uttarakhand (12.8 per cent) performing worse than Gujarat. As for the age-group 20-24, Gujarat’s 1.8 per cent is the worst.
A scrutiny of the percentage of SC females attending an educational institution would tell almost the same story. Gujarat was found to be sending 71.2 per cent of female SCs in the age-group 5-14 to an educational instition, which is lower than most states except Jharkhand (59.8 per cent). In the age-group 15-19, 18 per cent SC females go to an educational institution, which is lower than all other Indian states. And in the age-group 20-24, the corresponding figure for Gujarat is 7.2 per cent, which is worse than all states except Haryana (4.1 per cent), Jharkhand (2 per cent), Karnataka (5.3 per cent), Rajasthan 3.4 per cent) and West Bengal (4.4 per cent).
As for OBC females, Gujarat’s 78 per cent in the age-group 5-14 is worse than all states except Bihar (72.6 per cent); in the age-group 15-19, Gujarat’s 23.8 per cent is worse than all states, including Bihar (42.1 per cent). Again, in the age-group 20-24, Gujarat’s 2.5 per cent is worse than all the Indian states. Even for higher castes, categorized as “others”, Gujarat’s young females do not show a better performance most of the Indian states, though here the situation is slightly better.
Glancing through overall literacy figures (of the 5 plus age group), there is reason to believe that other states, including the states so far identified as Bimaru, are all set to overtake Gujarat in future. This can be concluded from the fact that Gujarat’s overall literacy figures for the three social groups is not as bad as many states, and is almost equal to the national average. However it is the younger group of 5-24 that Gujarat fares badly. Overall literacy figures how, Gujarat’s 54 per cent ST females are literate, while the all-India average is 54.4 per cent. Gujarat’s literacy among SC females is 56.7 per cent as against the all-India figure of 55.5 per cent. And as for OBC females, Gujarat’s literacy levels are 61.6 per cent, as against the all-India figure of 62.1 per cent. The table below shows how things deteriorate if one examines the younger age groups going to educational institutions.

Table: Percentage of females attending educational institutions
Social Groups
Age-group ST SC OBC
Gujarat 5-14 75.1 71.2 78.0
15-19 22.4 18.0 23.8
20-24 1.8 7.2 2.5

All-India 5-14 81.7 83.6 85.8
15-19 40.9 46.8 51.8
20-24 7.2 7.9 10.8

(Source: Employment and unemployment situation among social groups in India, National Sample Survey, September 2012)

Comments

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Gujarat agate worker, who fought against bondage, died of silicosis, won compensation

Raju Parmar By Jagdish Patel* This is about an agate worker of Khambhat in Central Gujarat. Born in a Vankar family, Raju Parmar first visited our weekly OPD clinic in Shakarpur on March 4, 2009. Aged 45 then, he was assigned OPD No 199/03/2009. He was referred to the Cardiac Care Centre, Khambhat, to get chest X-ray free of charge. Accordingly, he got it done and submitted his report. At that time he was working in an agate crushing unit of one Kishan Bhil.

Budget for 2018-19: Ahmedabad authorities "regularly" under-spend allocation

By Mahender Jethmalani* The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC's) General Body (Municipal Board) recently passed the AMC’s annual budget estimates of Rs 6,990 crore for 2018-19. AMC’s revenue expenditure for the next financial year is Rs 3,500 crore and development budget (capital budget) is Rs 3,490 crore.

Licy Bharucha’s pilgrimage into the lives of India’s freedom fighters

By Moin Qazi* Book Review: “Oral History of Indian Freedom Movement”, by Dr Licy Bharucha; Pp240; Rs 300; Published by National Museum of Indian Freedom Movement The Congress has won political freedom, but it has yet to win economic freedom, social and moral freedom. These freedoms are harder than the political, if only because they are constructive, less exciting and not spectacular. — Mahatma Gandhi The opening quote of the book by Mahatma Gandhi sums up the true objective of India’s freedom struggle. It also in essence speaks for the multitudes of brave and courageous individuals who aspired to get themselves jailed for the cause of the country’s freedom. A jail term was a strong testimony and credential of patriotism for them. The book has been written by Dr Licy Bharucha, an academically trained political scientist and a scholar of peace studies and Gandhian studies, who was closely associated throughout her life with those who made the struggle for India’s independence the primar...

Warning bells for India: Tribal exploitation by powerful corporate interests may turn into international issue

By Ashok Shrimali* Warning bells are ringing for India. Even as news drops in from Odisha that Adivasi villages, one after another, are rejecting the top UK-based MNC Vedanta's plea for mining, a recent move by two senior scholars Felix Padel and Samarendra Das suggests the way tribals are being exploited in India by powerful international and national business interests may become an international issue. In fact, one has only to count days when things may be taken up at the United Nations level, with India being pushed to the corner. Padel, it may be recalled, is a major British authority on indigenous peoples across the world, with several scholarly books to his credit.

UP tribal woman human rights defender Sokalo released on bail

By A Representative After almost five months in jail, Adivasi human rights defender and forest worker Sokalo Gond has been finally released on bail.Despite being granted bail on October 4, technical and procedural issues kept Sokalo behind bars until November 1. The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), which are backing Sokalo, called it a "major victory." Sokalo's release follows the earlier releases of Kismatiya and Sukhdev Gond in September. "All three forest workers and human rights defenders were illegally incarcerated under false charges, in what is the State's way of punishing those who are active in their fight for the proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act (2006)", said a CJP statement.

Search This Blog