Girl students to overtake boys in India

[Varun]

NEW DELHI: India is about to reach an important milestone shortly. Half of its gigantic student population, the world's largest, will be made up of girls. In 2015-16, the last year for which data is available, girls comprised 48% of the student population of about 300 million.

There has been a dramatic increase of girls enrolled in educational institutions+ from schools to colleges and universities over the past years. Starting from a mere 25% in 1950-51, the share of girl students inched up slowly for the next 40 years to reach 39% in 1990-91. Then, in the next decade it moved up to 42%. Since 2000-01, it has increased to within touching distance of the halfway mark. Once enrolled, girls are more likely to be conscientious in their studies and complete the course. Hence more girls get degrees than boys.

Why is this significant? For one, this puts India in the company of most advanced countries. In the EU countries, 54% of higher education students are women, in the US 55% and in China about 54%. But in these countries the status of women in society also improved simultaneously. More participation in jobs, more representation in political, administrative and economic decision making bodies, and a better status in society went hand in hand with better education.

In India, there is a bizarre mismatch between the education attainments of women and their participation and status in all other aspects of the country's life. Participation in work is just 27%, representation in Parliament is 11% and 8.8% in state legislatures, and only 17 CEOs of 500 largest listed companies are women.

This situation represents not just a tragic waste of educated and productive talent of the country's citizens, but also a fraught and unjust situation where a huge educated segment of society is forced to play second fiddle and sit on the sidelines.

While the number of girls in schools steadily increased in the 1990s and early 2000s as a result of programs like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the mid-day meal scheme, there has been a dizzying expansion in the number of girls entering higher education. They made up about 35% of students in 2000-01 which shot up to 46% in 2015-16. A large chunk of those that went to school in earlier years, continued into higher education.

Girls outnumber boys in post graduate courses while they are on the brink of overtaking boys in undergraduate courses. In many states and universities this has already taken place. For several years now, more girls are enrolled in arts subjects than boys, but lose ground in science and commerce.

In professional courses, boys outnumber girls by almost 3:1 in engineering but they are ahead of boys in medical science disciplines, mainly because of very high numbers in some sub-disciplines like nursing, dentistry, physiotherapy and traditional systems of medicine.

The large and growing number of girls doing general arts and humanities courses in colleges across the country represents both a lack of opportunity to enter into less accessible technical and professional courses and also the desire of families to equip their daughters as much as possible for future life. Many feel that getting a graduate degree is now part of the preparation for better marriage prospects as there is at least a better potential for employment.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ertake-boys-in-india/articleshow/60812053.cms

Positive news. In our part of the world, women's education will go a long way in solving many of society's ills.

 

[JaDed]

10 years at this rate and Indian women would take India way forward,and some posters would still take a dig at their personal lives or call them words and it wouldn't matter zilch.

 

[Varun]

10 years at this rate and Indian women would take India way forward,and some posters would still take a dig at their personal lives or call them words and it wouldn't matter zilch.

Social Media has allowed keyboard warriors to come to the fore like never before. It's only words though, and the more it continues to happen the less the bite over time.

 

[JaDed]

Social Media has allowed keyboard warriors to come to the fore like never before. It's only words though, and the more it continues to happen the less the bite over time.

Very true,maybe that's the purpose sports was invented as well

 

[Slog]

this is only natural since im assuming the rate of female infanticide in India must have decreased quite significantly over past couple of decades

 

[SandyB]

this is only natural since im assuming the rate of female infanticide in India must have decreased quite significantly over past couple of decades

It has come down for sure, but many still do it for "cultural" reasons 9not limited to just the poor and uneducated people) .

The really great thing is that the semi-urban and urban lower/middle classes are starting to look at daughters much more as economically productive members of the family, and not merely as "child-rearers" . But again the stats show that the participation of women in work hasn't shown the same level of improvement as schooling, that needs to be worked upon.

 

[JaDed]

this is only natural since im assuming the rate of female infanticide in India must have decreased quite significantly over past couple of decades

Female infanticide is one issue,sending the girls to school/college is another one,second one is still relevant in many areas.
Third would be letting them work without emotional blackmail and having their own individuality.

 

[Hornbill]

Gender gap narrowing in higher education: HRD survey

Gender gap in India's institutes of higher studies has reduced by nine lakh in the last five years with girl students outnumbering men in eight disciplines in 2016-17 academic session, according to a survey of the HRD ministry.

https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/m.ti...ation-hrd-survey/amp_articleshow/62407944.cms

 

[Proactive_]

Great news, the figure for workplace should increase proportionately as well in the near future..

 

[troodon]

Women are better than Men as they have the ability to multi task better than Men.

 

[TM Riddle]

Women are better than Men as they have the ability to multi task better than Men.

Disagree. Men are better because they are comparatively more stronger physically.

 

[troodon]

Disagree. Men are better because they are comparatively more stronger physically.

In this day and age, you do not need big muscles to get the job done. That was during Stone Age and Medieval times where Muscle Power ruled.

Now its all about Brain power. Smartness/Intelligence trumps Muscular Power.

 

[Hornbill]

Women’s representation in Indian companies rises

Representation of women in Indian companies increased from 21% five years ago to 30% now

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.li...ndian-companies-rises/amp-11576086142768.html