52% rural girls attend secondary school in Gujarat, worst in India, says NSS: Wither Kanya Kelavni enrollment drive?

In a revelation which may prove to be a major embarrassment to the Gujarat government’s much-publicized Kanya Kalavni annual fete aimed at ensuring cent per cent attendance in school, the authoritative National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) has revealed in its latest report, “Key Indicators of Social Consumption in India: Education”, that Gujarat has a far fewer percentage of rural girls in the age group 14-17 going to school than any of the 21 major states of India.
Based on NSS survey between January and June 2014, the data show that Gujarat’s just about 52 per cent rural girls attend school in the age group 14-17, as against the national average of 72 per cent. The data show that, while Kerala and Himachal Pradesh top in sending their rural girls to school with 96 and 95 per cent, even poorer states are far ahead: Assam 78 per cent, Jharkhand 72 per cent, Bihar 69 per cent, UP 68 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 67 per cent, Odisha 63 per cent, and Rajasthan 59 per cent. The NSS report was released on Tuesday.

Children in the age-group 14-17 attend secondary school, suggesting that there may be a huge dropout of girls after they finish primary education. While no reasons have been assigned in the NSSO report, there is a general view among educationists and experts that distance to school and continued conservatism in rural communities are the main reasons why girls fail to go to attend school at the secondary level in Gujarat. Yet, the fact is, things are no better at the primary level.
Comparative data for the age-group 6-13 reveal that Gujarat is behind as many as 11 other major states out of 21 in sending rural girls to school. While in Gujarat 92 per cent rural girls in this age group attend school, the best performer here are Kerala and Himachal Pradesh with 99 per cent each, followed by Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand, 98 per cent each. With two states performing equal to Gujarat (Odisha and Karnataka), only eight out of 21 major states perform worse than Gujarat.

Gujarat claims to be one of the fastest urbanizing states of India. Yet education to urban girls appears to have remained a major issue, NSS data further suggest. Thus, in the age-group 14-17, Gujarat’s 82 per cent urban girls attend school, which is worse than all 21 major states with the exception of six – Haryana (81 per cent), Telangana (80 per cent), Jharkhand (79 per cent), Rajasthan (72 per cent), UP (71 per cent) and Odisha (59 per cent).
As for the age group 6-13, things are equally bad for Gujarat’s urban girls: 91 per cent of them attend school, which is worse than all major states except five – Jharkhand (89 per cent), Bihar (88 per cent), Rajasthan (87 per cent), Haryana (84 per cent) and UP (79 per cent). The best performer in primary education is Tamil Nadu, where 99 per cent urban girls attend school, followed by Telangana and Assam 98 per cent.

The data come close on the heels of the just-accomplished Gujarat government-sponsored “celebration” to enroll cent per cent children at the primary level -- Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelavani Mahotsav. While the annual fete in the rural areas took place on from June 11 to 13, 2015, it urban areas it happened on June 18 to 20, 2015. Government officials, ranging from IAS and IPS babus to district level class one officials, are involved in the fete, which was started by Narendra Modi about a decade ago during his chief ministership.

Comments

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

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.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

Just 5% Gujarat Dalit households 'recognise' social reformers who inspired Ambedkar

An interesting survey conducted across 22 districts and 32 villages in Gujarat sheds light on the representation of key social reformers in Dalit households. It suggests that while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's photo was displayed in a majority of homes, images of Lord Buddha and the 19th-century reformist couple, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule, were not as commonly represented.

Search This Blog