Although the enrollment rate of girls has increased significantly in recent years at secondary and higher secondary levels, the dropout rate of girls continues to be higher at both the levels, which is one of the prime reasons behind the low numbers of female students in higher education.
Women leaders feared that if girls were not given enough security on their ways to and from educational institutions and facilities like hostels, sanitation and security on the campuses, current growth rate might nosedive. Girls now account for 54 per cent of secondary enrolment, 51 per cent of primary enrolment and 40 per cent of higher education enrolment, higher than a decade ago.
Government officials said that positive development in girls’ enrolment occurred because of some specific government interventions focusing on girls, such as stipends and exemption of tuition fees for girls, and stipend scheme for girls at the secondary level, a claim corroborated independently by female education leaders.
Director-General of Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education admitted that there were some challenges for continuing the success. Female educators expressed fear that the newly enacted Child Marriage Restraint Act with a special provision for allowing underage marriages under ‘special circumstances’ might put negative impact on the success as the provision would encourage child marriage and increase school dropout among girls.
Whatever the reasons, female enrollment is at an all time high, which is good news for female empowerment. It will go a long way to eradicate the gender imbalances in jobs and education which have prevented women in the past from achieving their goals. However societal views about gender are still vastly imbalanced as many people still feel that a woman’s place is rightfully in the home.
To continue the successes in enrollment care must be taken that women get degrees to match the jobs which are actually available in the real world. There is no sense in giving a woman a high school diploma only to see her work in a garments factory. Therefore to properly utilise them there should be opportunities for them to work in safe and respected professions inside the country, like nursing, education, and other growth sectors. Only with full engagement in their respective professions, they can contribute more meaningfully in the national growth process.
