 EDUCATION FOR WOMEN'S EQUALITY

4.1.1 The National Policy on Education (NPE) and Programme of Action(POA) commit the entire educational system to work for women's equality and empowerment. The modified NPE, 1986 and its 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 During the year great significance was 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. The State Governments have also been advised to set up 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 non-formal schooling; recruitment of rural women teacher and removal of gender bias in the curriculum. The enrolment of girls as a ratio of total. enrolment during 1992-93 is 43% at primary stage, 39% at middle stage, 34% at secondary and higher secondary stage, 18% at other below degree stage and 33% at higher education stage.

4.1.3 Special provisions have been incorporated 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 the 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 1,32,834 posts of primary school teachers, mainly to be filled by women. According to the latest reports, 1,02,587 posts of teachers have been filled of which 48.52% are women teachers.

4.1.4 Under the Ministry's Scheme of NFE 90% assistance was given for NFE centres exclusively for girls. The cumulative number of NFE Centres for girls as on 31.3.1993 was 79,071. The scheme has recently been revised so as to provide more facilities for educating girls by increasing the ratio of NFE centres exclusively for girls to co- educational centres from 25:75 to 40:60.

4.1.5 A new scheme for strengthening of boarding and hostel facilities for girl students of secondary and higher secondary schools has been launched with the objective of boosting retention of girls. Under the scheme, of assistance is provided to existing girl's hostels or boarding houses run by voluntary agencies for food, furniture, utensils, recreational aids, etc.

of girl inmates of such hostels who are students of classes IX-XII of recognised schools. It is proposed to cover 3580 girls during VIIIth Plan period.

4.1.6 By conscious action efforts are made to ensure that at least one-third the students in each Navodaya Vidyalayas are girls.

4.1.7 In the total literacy campaigns the theme of empowerment of women is receiving special focus. Since the female literacy rate in the country is strikingly lower than for men it happens that the women learners under TLCs out number male learners. The general trend of enrolment of women in Total Literacy Campaigns (TLCs) has been over 60%. 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.

4.1.8 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 and 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 15,90,000 in 1992-93 recording an increase of more than 40 times over the forty-two 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 50 in 1992-93. The enrolment of women as a percentage of total enrolment increased from 27.7% in 1981-82 to 33.1% in 1992-93.

4.1.9 The University Grants Commission has been providing financial assistance to universities for promoting studies programmes and setting up of centres/cells for women's studies to undertake research projects, development of curricula training and extension in the area of gender equity, economic self reliance of women, girls education, population issues, human rights, social exploitation as a crucial instrument for social and academic development. The Commission has also created 40 positions of part-time research associateships for women candidates in Science and Humanities including Social Sciences and Engineering & Technology. Twenty-one research projects relating to the theme of women's studies were approved for assistance up to November, 1993. Also, the Standing Committee on Women's Studies, after examining various proposals, recommended assistance to 22 universities and 11 college/university departments for setting up women's studies centres and cells respectively. The polyvalent adult education programme of Sharmik Vidyapeeths (SVP) has been successfully completed during 1993 in all the 10

selected SVPs. One thousand women/girls were to be made literate by each SVP. The SVPs continue to attract women/girls in large number through their tailor-made programmes.

4.1.10 The Mahila Samakhya (Education for Women's Equality) was launched in April, 1989 with Dutch Assistance. This Project was formulated in pursuance of the NPE, 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 about them. Mahila Samakhya Project presupposes that education can be a decisive intervention towards women's equality. Its overall goal is to create circumstances to enable women to better under-stand 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 an educational opportunity which serves the process of development. The centrality of education in the struggle to achieve equality is an important focus of Mahila Samakhya. The Mahila Samakhya component is being made part of the strategy for women's education in UP Basic Education Project and Bihar Education Project. Presently, the programme is being implemented in 14 districts, spreading over four States of UP, Karnataka, Gujarat and AP. Encouraged by the success of the Mahila Samakhya strategy, it is being incorporated in several other basic education projects in the country.