 EDUCATION FOR WOMEN'S EQUALITY

4.1.1 The NPE and POA commit the entire educational system to work for women's equality and empowerment. The modified National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 and its Programme of Action (POA) give high priority to the education of women, being a factor of the equity package. Besides, this issue is also of economic importance. Education is a major factor in developing and thereby optimising the contribution of this large segment of society towards socioeconomic development. The POA, 1992 has identified a number of specific programmes in this area keeping in view the experience in implementing the previous POA.

4.1.2 Significance has been greatly attached to actually operationalising the NPE's Programme of Action and in a series of regional meetings with the State Governments, a special review of gender issues in education was undertaken. At the same time it was emphasized to the States, that gender concerns must be built into all educational processes. A monitoring committee for women's/girls' education at the Ministry of Human Resource Development level monitors the indicators of gender concerns in all policy and projects. The state governments have been advised to set up similar monitoring committees at the State Secretaries' level to ensure that this perspective is incorporated and implemented in the education system. Emphasis has been laid on enrolment and retention of the girl child in formal and nonformal schooling; recruitment of rural women teachers and removal of gender bias in the curriculum.

4.1.3 A heartening feature of the decadal census figures of 1991 is the improvement in the literacy rate of women compared to that of men. As per these figures 39.4% of women are literate compared to 29.8% in 1981. The literacy rate in case of females during 1981-91 increased by 9.6% points as compared to 7.5% in case of males. While these figures are still way behind the figures of men, the decadal growth rate of women literacy is higher than that of men.

4.1.4 The enrolment of girls as a ratio of total enrolment during 1991-92 is 39% at primary stage, 33% at middle stage, 28% at secondary and higher secondary stage and 23% at higher education stage.

4.1.5 Special provisions have been incroporated for the benefit of women under the existing schemes of the Department. Under the operation Blackboard scheme, the revised policy formulations stipulate that at least 50% of teachers recruited in future should be women. Under the scheme of operation Blackboard, Government of India have provided assistance since 1987-88 for creation of 1,22,890 posts of primary school teachers, mainly to be filled by women. According to the latest reports, 69,926 posts of teachers have been filled of which 57.39% are women teachers. A scheme of hostels for enabling girls to benefit from secondary education is being

operationalised.

4.1.6 Under the Ministry's scheme of NFE 90% assistance was given for NFE centres exclusively four girls. The cumulative number of NFE centres for girls is 82,000.

4.1.7 By conscious action, admission of girls to the extent of 28.44% in Navodaya Vidalayas has been ensured. The total number of girls in these Vidyalayas is 22,222 as against total of 78,149 as on March 1992.

4.1.8 In the total literacy campaigns the theme of empowerment of women is receiving special focus. Since the female literacy rate in the coutry is strikingly lower than for men it happens that the women learners under TLCs out number male learners. The social awakening in terms of empowerment of hitherto deprived sections has been significant as evidenced by the movements in some of the districts for payment of fair wages for construction workers, sale of kharis directly to the workers, closure of liquor shops, and uniform increase in the demand for enrolment of children in all the campaign districts. This is, mainly due to the literacy of women. In the adult education and post literacy education centres, special attention was given to enrolment of women.

4.1.9 There has been phenomenal expansion of educational opportunities for women in the field of higher education both general and technical. Women education at the university-both college levels has been diversified and reoriented in tune with the changing requirements of the society, industry and trade. The number of women enrolled in institutions of higher education increased from 40,000 in 1950-51. to about 14,37,000 in 1990-91 recording an increase of more than 36 times over the forty-year period. The number of women enrolled per hundred men enrolled during this period has gone up more than three times from 14 in 1950-51 to 48 in 1990-91. The enrolment of women as a percentage of total enrolment increased from 27.7 per cent in 1981-82 to 32.5 per cent in 1990-91.

4.1.10 The University Grants Commission has been providing financial assistance to universities for undertaking well-defined projects for research in women's studies and also for the development of curriculum at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and relevant extension activities. The Commission has also created 40 positions of part-time research associateships for women candidates in Science and Humanities including social Sciences and Engineering and Technology. Twenty-one research projects relations to the theme of women's studies were approved for assistance upto September, 1992. Also, the Standing Committee on Women's Studies, after examining various proposal, recommended assistance to 21 universities and 11 colleges/university departments for setting up women's studies centres and cells respectively.

4.1.11 Under the polyvalent adult education programme of

Shramik Vidyapeeths (SVP) during the calender year 1992 UNICEF has provided special assistance to 10 selected Shramik Vidyapeeths for conducting skill based literacy programme. One thousand women/girls are to be made literate by each SVP. By the middle of 1993, 10,000 women will not only be made literate but will also be empowered with skill in a popular trade.

4.1.12 A number of specific programmes were launched by the Department for women's education and empowerment. The Mahila Samakhya (Education for Women's Equality) was launched in April., 1989 with Dutch Assistance. This project was formulated in pursuance of the National Policy on Education, 1986. The constraints that have prevented women and girls from accessing educational inputs, is the main focus of the project. This project seeks to begin by addressing issues of self image and self confidence of women and societal perception about them Mahila Samakhya Project presupposes that education can be a decisive intervention towards women's equlity. Its overall goal is to create circumstances to enable women to better understand their predicament, to move from a state of abject disempowerment towards a situation in which they can determine their own lives and influence their environment, and simultaneously create for themselves and their family and educational opportunity which serves the process of development. The Mahila Samakhya component is being made part of the strategy for women's education in up Basic Education Project and Bihar Education Project.

4.1.13 The programme covers 10 districts in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. During the Eighth Plan period it is being expanded to another 10 districts as well as three districts in Andhra Pradesh. Encouraging by the success of the Mahila Samakhya strategy, it. Is being incorporated in several other basic education projects in the country.

4.1.14 The POA, 1992 provides for the establishment of a women cell for monitoring the programmes for education in the Department. A Cell has already been set up in the Planning bureau of the Department for this purpose.

4.1.15 POA, 1992 also provides for a high level Inter-Ministerial Committee for Women's Education in the Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development to, review the implementation of POA; advise the government on policies and programmes related to girls' education and to acclerate planning mechanism to ensure provision of essential support services that will enhance girls' and women's participation in education. Such a Committee has been duly constituted and the States have been requested to set up similar committees.

4.1.16 The NCERT has conducted special programmes on women's education. A study on 'Factors for Continuance and Discontinuance of Girls in Elementary Schooling' has been completed in the NCERT. The Council has initiated a major integrated multi-level research-cum- training project in Haryana where 300 educational personnel will be oriented on

universalisation of primary education among girls and disadvantaged groups in rural and remote areas. Guidelines for removal of sex bias from textbooks, handbooks for teachers for promoting equality between sexes and a training manual on women's education, are being developed. A programme was also organised by the Council in collaboration with Howrah Teachers Forum to prepare a set of guidelines for universalisation of Primary Education for rural girls. Three gender sensitization workshops for teacher educators and educational administrators were conducted, two for Delhi and one for West Bengal on request.

4.1.17 Concretely, an attempt would be made to operationlize the POA, 1992 on the following lines :-

i) A nation wide gender sensitization programme will be undertaken to cover a large number of educational personnel to include educational administrators, teachers and teacher educators. Complementary to this strategy, would be media campaigns and parental awareness programmes for generating a positive climate for girls' education. Mobilisation of women's groups would be intensified around basic issues of women's empowerment and girls' education.

ii) All teachers and instructors will be trained as agents of women's empowerment. Training programmes will be developed by NCERT, DAE, SRCs, DIETs, SCERTs and the university system. Innovative training programmes will be designed with the assistance of concerned organisations and women's groups.

iii) The NCERT would undertake a study of problems of recruitment and posting of women teachers in rural areas to identify the bottlenecks and workable solutions.

iv) Steps would be taken to enhance access of girls to vocational, technical and professional education at all levels, breaking gender stereotypes.

v) Stress would be laid on convergence of schemes 'and programmes of various departments for creating supportive services that will release girls for education. Active cooperation of the Department of Women and Child Development and of State Governments be sought.

vi) Legal literacy materials developed by Department of Women and Child Development will be disseminated far and wide so that these become part of the school curriculum, literacy campaigns and women's mobilisation. Media support Would be sought especially from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

vii) Distance education will be enhanced to increase girl's access to middle and secondary education. The National Open School has been able to draw girls into distance education and this linkage will be increased to support more middle school girls into education.

viii) Accent will be on promoting and documenting innovative programmes on women's education.