Policy Brief on Gender Equality in India: Improving Female Literacy

This policy brief addresses the critical issue of female literacy and gender inequality in India. It begins by highlighting the significant disparity in literacy rates between men and women, emphasizing the negative impact on socioeconomic progress and family planning. The brief provides background information on the importance of literacy as a basic human right and the alarming statistics of female illiteracy in India. It explores the causes of poor female literacy, including poverty, lack of access to schools, and inadequate school facilities. The brief then reviews government efforts to improve female literacy, such as recommendations from the National Committee on the Education of Women and the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme. Finally, it offers recommendations for improvement, including eradicating poverty in rural areas, providing counseling for families, encouraging investment in schools, providing nutritious meals, and ensuring gender parity in the classroom. The policy brief is intended for the Minister of Education, urging immediate action to address this crucial issue.

Running head: POLICY BRIEF ON GENDER EQUALITY – THE CASE OF INDIA
Policy Brief on Gender Equality – The Case of India
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1POLICY BRIEF ON GENDER EQUALITY – THE CASE OF INDIA
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
1. Background.........................................................................................................................2
2. Poor Female Literacy in India – Context and Critique.......................................................3
2.1. Causes of Poor Female Literacy in India....................................................................3
2.2. Government Efforts to Improve Female Literacy in India..........................................4
2.2.1. Recommendations made by the National Committee on the Education of Women...4
2.2.2. Other Efforts to Address the Education of Girl Children in India...........................5
3. Recommendations for Improving Female Literacy in India...............................................6
3.1. Eradication of Poverty in Rural Areas.........................................................................6
3.2. Counseling for Families in Rural Areas......................................................................6
3.3. Encouraging Investors to set up schools for Girl Children in Rural and Urban Areas...7
3.4. Provision of Nutritious Meals for Girl Children at Schools in Rural Areas...............7
3.5. Paying Teachers well enough to Take up Jobs in Rural Areas...................................8
3.6. Encouraging Schools to Take in Girl Children from Poor Backgrounds and to
Ensure Gender Parity in the Classroom.................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................10

2POLICY BRIEF ON GENDER EQUALITY – THE CASE OF INDIA
Introduction
The literacy rate of any country is the key requirement for the country’s socio-
economic progress. When it comes to a country like India, the literacy rate of the nation has
been growing and developing at a very sluggish pace since the decade of the 1970’s, in spite
of the Indian government having undertaken substantive efforts to improve literacy in the
country. Moreover, the literacy rate in India is characterized by a wide gender disparity. As
per the year of 2011, literacy rate for men in India stood at 80.9% while the female literacy
rate stood at a meager rate of 64.60%. Such a low rate of female literacy in India is seen to
have a very negative impact on population stabilization efforts and family planning in India.
Female literacy for instance is considered to have an important role to play in the use of
contraception among women in India, even in situations where women are devoid of any
economic independence (Awasthi et al. 2016). This report prepares a policy brief that is
written to the Minister of Education in India, informing the minister of the terrible plight of
female education and literacy in the country and the steps that need to be taken immediately
in order to bring about an improvement in this dire situation.
1. Background
Literacy has been established as a basic human right by the UN Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. However, when one looks at the case of India, one will find that as much
as fifty percent of the female population in country is not able to read or to write. India has
experienced some truly phenomenal growth rates over the last few decades but has very
shocking statistics to reveal when it comes to something as basic as education. India today
has the higher number of illiterate people, that is, people who cannot read or write, in the
whole world (Bagchi and Chatterjee 2018). The national literacy rate in India now stands at
sixty four percent. If statistics provided by the UNESCO are anything to go by, India stands

3POLICY BRIEF ON GENDER EQUALITY – THE CASE OF INDIA
in the bottom five in the area of female literacy, right next to countries such as Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. While India is a country that is seen to produce the most
engineers in the world, it is also a country that features the maximum number of school drop
outs. Thus there is plenty that India has to do, and the Indian government in particular, when
it comes to improving education in the country (Banerjee and Roy 2015). India has plenty of
private sector resources and internal human capital that it can utilize or leverage for bringing
about a reduction in the disparity that can be witnessed in the country in terms of wealth as
well as education (Batra and Reio 2016).
2. Poor Female Literacy in India – Context and Critique
2.1. Causes of Poor Female Literacy in India
Poverty serves as an important cause for numerous problems in India, one of them
being poor female literacy. As much as one third of the people living in India, are people who
reside below the poverty line (Bhatt 2015). While the Indian government has been
undertaking many efforts in order to provide primary education for free, there are many
parents, especially in the rural parts of the country who are not prepared to send their children
to school (Deb et al. 2016). Lack of accessibility to schools is also a major cause for low
female literacy in India. Parents in rural India are not comfortable with the idea of sending
their girl children to school largely because of the fact that such schools are situated far away
from their homes, and girls would have to travel over a long distance to get to school and
back, which would be both physically tiring and unsafe for them to do. Lack of access to
good schools in India or schools that are serviced by adequate facilities is also an important
reason why female literacy in a country like India is so poor. Many schools in India are in
pathetic condition and lack basic amenities (Guilmoto et al. 2018). Based on surveys
undertaken, fifty four percent of the schools in Uttar Pradesh, a large North Western State in

4POLICY BRIEF ON GENDER EQUALITY – THE CASE OF INDIA
India, do not have access to water and eighty percent of the schools over here do not have
good latrine facilities. Certain schools in India do not have sufficient number of rooms to
accommodate students (Jain et al. 2017).
In spite of all the many factors that are responsible for the poor rate of female literacy
in India, the National Women’s Parliament in India wants women belonging to all ages to
realize as well as understand that education is something that can bring poverty to an end. It
will enable women to end their misery and to lead their lives with the type of dignity that they
had never hoped for. If girl children are provided with education, then it will assist in the
creation of a fair and balanced society, which is something that a country like India
desperately needs in order to grow and develop and be at par someday with the developed
countries of the globe (Katiyar 2016).
2.2. Government Efforts to Improve Female Literacy in India
2.2.1. Recommendations made by the National Committee on the Education of
Women
It has to be acknowledged that the government of India has undertaken various
schemes and programs in order to improve female literacy in the country. The National
Committee on the Education of Women has suggested a number of measures that ought to be
undertaken in order to improve the rate of female literacy in India (Kookana et al. 2016). For
instance, it is recommended by the National Committee on the Education of Women in India
that school facilities need to be provided and new schools need to be opened, bringing such
schools within the easy reach of children residing in rural areas, starting sections for girls in
schools that are meant for boys and by offering condensed educational courses for adult
women (Kumar et al. 2016). Some of the other important recommendations that have been
made by the National Commission on Education of Women in India include making

5POLICY BRIEF ON GENDER EQUALITY – THE CASE OF INDIA
education free for girl children through the granting of concessions to poor yet meritorious
girl students in the form of scholarships, hiring female inspection officers who will be
responsible for inspecting as well as administrating various aspects of female education,
provision of mid day meals and the establishment of crèches to support working mothers who
would like to continue with their education at an adult age (Maity 2016). Additionally it is
recommended by the National Committee of Education of Women that compulsory education
be enforced for women and a social climate be created for women in village or rural setups
that will aim to enroll girls who belong to the school going age into educational institutions.
Girl’s education in particular is something that needs to be prioritized by educational
institutions in both urban and rural areas of India, if the poor rate of female literacy is to be
improved upon. The government of India has introduced free education for women in India
and for girl children specifically, but efforts need to be made to ensure that these schemes and
measures are being adequately implemented, the details of which will be discussed in the
next section of this report (Mitra and Nagar 2018).
2.2.2. Other Efforts to Address the Education of Girl Children in India
Some of the other efforts to address education of girl children in India are definitely
worth acknowledging such as the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme which was launched by
the Indian government in 2015 and aims at increasing the number of girl children attending
schools in rural India, decreasing the number of school drop outs, constructing toilets that are
meant for use by girl children in schools and implementing rules concerning right to
education for girl children in India (Sehrawat and Giri 2017). The state of Gurgaon in
Haryana, India aims at the provision of free education for girl children who are aged between
nine and twelve while monetary incentives amounting to as much as thirty thousand Indian
rupees is made available to girl students who are able to show an outstanding performance in
the intermediate examinations across the length and the breadth of the country. It is also

6POLICY BRIEF ON GENDER EQUALITY – THE CASE OF INDIA
commendable that the UNICEF is working in close cooperation with the government of India
for the provision of high quality education for girl students in the country. For instance,
UNICEF programs have been initiated in the Indian state of Bihar that are aimed at educating
daughters, as a result of which many girl children in Bihar are seen to be attending school,
something that they did not do before (Sehrawat and Giri 2017).
3. Recommendations for Improving Female Literacy in India
3.1. Eradication of Poverty in Rural Areas
If female literacy in India is to be improved then one of the most important measures that
need to be taken on the part of the government of India is the eradication of poverty. Families
that have girl children need to be provided with financial assistance with the guarantee being
given on the part of the family members that the funds will be utilized for providing the girl
children in the family with quality education (Susuman et al. 2016). It is only when poor
families in rural areas are provided with financial measures and financial incentives that they
will get the confidence to send their girl children to school instead of leaving them
uneducated. Girl children are often forced to take up jobs from the ages of ten to twelve in
order to support their families financially, and this is something they will not have to do when
their families are given financial assistance. They will be able to attend school instead
(Susuman et al. 2016).
3.2. Counseling for Families in Rural Areas
Another important way by which female literacy can be improved in the country of India
is for families living in rural areas to be provided with counseling sessions wherein the
importance of female education is made known to them. Educational experts should be given
the opportunity to speak to families that have girl children in the rural parts of the country,
explaining to them why it is important that they send their girl children to school instead of

7POLICY BRIEF ON GENDER EQUALITY – THE CASE OF INDIA
sending them to perform odd jobs or labor at people’s homes instead of receiving the quality
education that they should be receiving (Waris et al. 2016).
3.3. Encouraging Investors to set up schools for Girl Children in Rural and
Urban Areas
Investment has to be made in girl’s education in both rural and urban areas of India.
Investors need to be encouraged to open schools that will cater specifically to the needs and
requirements of girl students, providing them with the quality education that they need in
order to lead dignified lives. Instead of opening shopping malls and multiplexes, investors
need to be encouraged by the Ministry of Education in India with tax rebates and incentives
to open schools and educational institutions that are geared towards providing girl children
with quality and affordable education (Waris et al. 2016).
3.4. Provision of Nutritious Meals for Girl Children at Schools in Rural
Areas
While the mid day meal scheme is something that is working well enough to attract
children to school, nutritious meals that are meant specifically for consumption by girl
children and which can boost the health and development of girl children need to be provided
in schools that are set up in rural areas. As a result, girl children living in the rural areas will
not only be receiving the quality education that they need in order to be at par with male
children and with girl children who hail from better economic backgrounds than they do, but
will also get the nutrition that they need to develop well physically as well as mentally
(Yadav 2019).

8POLICY BRIEF ON GENDER EQUALITY – THE CASE OF INDIA
3.5. Paying Teachers well enough to Take up Jobs in Rural Areas
Improving female literacy in India is not something that can be achieved without paying
teachers well enough. The Ministry of Education in India needs to take cognizance of the fact
that teachers working in schools in the rural areas are not paid well enough and that the
salaries of teachers need to be increased by a considerable amount in order for teachers to feel
motivated to do the work that they do and to encourage more people to take up teaching
positions in rural areas, specifically in schools that cater to the requirements of girl children.
The pay of teachers in schools that are situated in rural areas, and in which girl students are
enrolled needs to be hiked so that such schools and educational establishments are serviced
by high qualified and efficient and competent faculty members who are more than well
positioned to provide girl students with the education that they need to lead successful lives
(Yadav 2019).
3.6. Encouraging Schools to Take in Girl Children from Poor Backgrounds
and to Ensure Gender Parity in the Classroom
Schools in India need to be encouraged to take in girl children as much as possible, even
if such girls hail from low or poor income backgrounds as this will go a long way in
improving female literacy in India. Efforts need to be made by the Ministry of Education in
India to provide special funding or financial aid to schools take in girl students from both
urban as well as rural areas and who take in an equal number of girls and an equal number of
boys into every section. By taking such a measure schools or educational institutions will
ensure that gender disparity is something that is avoided in the classroom and that both girl
children and boy children are provided with equal opportunities when it comes to education
(Yadav 2019).

9POLICY BRIEF ON GENDER EQUALITY – THE CASE OF INDIA
Conclusion
Thus, there are quite a few measures that can be taken by the Ministry of Education in
India in order to improve the figures pertaining to female literacy in the country. While the
government of India has undertaken many different measures to improve access to education
for girl children in the country, many of these measures have to be monitored and supervised
in order to make sure that these are being implemented well enough. The Ministry of
Education in India must take special care to encourage investors to set up schools for girl
children in urban and rural areas and for teachers to provide quality education in rural areas
for girl children in order for female literacy in the country to be improved by leaps and
bounds.

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