Barriers to Girls’ Education at the Elementary Level in India

Abstract

Gender inequality in India has remained a subject of considerable interest among the researchers. With about one-third population comprising of the youth, India has tried to improve access and quality of education to reap benefits of this demographic dividend. Despite its sustained efforts, studies have found that girls in India still face disadvantage in access to basic education as compared to their male counterparts. Both domestic and international studies point out many lacunae which ail girl education in India. This paper analyses the obstacles faced by girls in completing their education at elementary level. These factors arise out of social, economic, cultural and gender-based discrimination in society. This paper points out various aspects related to financial challenges, lack of gender-sensitive environment, security and safety issues, patriarchal mindset of society and low level of expenditure on girl education by the government. While there is no dearth of literature available on each of these issues individually, this paper presents a holistic picture of the challenges and issues faced by girls at school level, which is captured using qualitative data analysis. India has come a long way in achieving the goal of gender equality, yet its future course requires a re-look of the traditional methods being followed. Therefore, universalizing elementary education with gender equity requires addressing existing gender norms so that girls get equal access to the benefits of education.



Author Information
Shailla Draboo, Jamia Millia Islamia University, India

Paper Information
Conference: ECE2020
Stream: Primary & Secondary Education

This paper is part of the ECE2020 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Draboo S. (2020) Barriers to Girls’ Education at the Elementary Level in India ISSN: 2188-1162 The European Conference on Education 2020: Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2188-1162.2020.32
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2188-1162.2020.32


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Posted by James Alexander Gordon