Skip to main content

Risking education: 49% Indian girls report household income loss vs 42% in Asia-Africa

Counterview News 
A virtual interview with 24,000 girls aged 15-19 during school closures in Asia and Africa has indicated that of the 9,887 reported loss of household income, 49% or 4,942 of them were from India. Overall, 42% of the girls said their households had lost income during the pandemic, making financial impact of Covid-19 the most significant risk to a girl’s education.
Carried out by Room to Read, a non-profit with headquarters in San Francisco, US, having presence in 10 countries of Asia and Africa, including India, its Girls’ Education Risk Indicator survey confined its interviews among low income communities across Asia and Africa.
The interviews took place over the phone or via video app calls in April and May 2020. Room to Read mentors asked three simple “yes” or “no” questions: Are you currently self-studying/keeping up with academic learning at home? Has anyone in your household lost a job or a source of income as a result of Covid-19? Are you concerned about being able to return to school once schools reopen?
The results of the interview also showed that 1 in 2 girls’ (49%) responded positively to at least one of risk indicator question, 8% of girls said they had stopped learning since school closures, and 7% are already concerned they will not return to school. A report on the survey said, “Extreme economic hardship and gender disparities in low-income communities across Africa and Asia regularly result in parents choosing not to educate their daughters.”
It added, “The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a heightened risk to girls’ education as early marriage, gender-based violence, sex trafficking, and other pressures to contribute to family income or serve as caregivers inside the home disproportionately impact young women.”

Comments

Post a Comment

NOTE: Hateful, abusive comments won't be published. -- Editor

TRENDING

The “Dr” debate masks a larger crisis in allied-health education

By Dr P K Gupta*  India’s allied-health professions have long operated in a fragmented landscape of universities, hospitals, State authorities and private institutions, each with its own nomenclature, curriculum and standards. The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021 was meant to correct this by creating a unified national framework for education, professional regulation and institutional recognition. Few dispute the need for such oversight. The real question is whether standardisation is quietly becoming synonymous with longer courses, additional internships and new professional titles—changes that risk masking deeper gaps in clinical training, institutional capacity and affordability.
Post a Comment
»

Pilgrimage or pollution? The waste crisis of Indian faith

By Raj Kumar Sinha*  In today's times, there are certain issues that are constantly talked about and discussed, yet no visible impact seems to be made. Beyond water, soil, and pollution, one crisis that continues to be overlooked is waste. Like other life-threatening problems, waste too is gradually moving toward burying and obliterating us. After the Kanwar Yatra in Haridwar, approximately 8,000 tonnes of waste were left behind on the riverbanks, including bottles filled with urine. 
Post a Comment
»

Can cow dung become a source of income? Durga Maida shows the path to self‑reliance

By Vikas Meshram*  In the Sailana block of Ratlam district lies the small village of Govardhanpura. This is where Durga Maida lives with her husband and four daughters. Their livelihood depended on just one bigha of land—far too little to feed a family of six. Growing enough grain for the year was impossible, and even meeting daily expenses was a constant struggle. Alongside farming, Durga kept livestock and took up wage labour whenever she could. Hard work was never lacking, but income always was. Month after month, the accounts failed to balance, forcing her to borrow. Looking back, Durga says those days felt heavy and hopeless; farming offered no promise, and there was no sign of change. Her story mirrored the reality of almost every small farmer in the area.
Post a Comment
»