Change in Status of Female Education in India

Women’s development is regarded as an important approach to raise the levels of productivity and to break the vicious circle of poverty, for which better health and education forms important. The Indian government wants to include more girls particularly from marginalized BPL families in the mainstream of education. To this end the government has been providing concession package in form of free books, scholarships, mid-day meals, uniforms, boarding, lodging and clothing for hostellers, free circles etc. For encouraging women's education at every level, schools, colleges and also universities for women exclusively have been established in the states of India. According to the 2001 census data (Census Report, 2001), national literacy rate stands at 64.84%. While male literacy was noted as 75.26%, female literacy lags behind at 53.67%. A more recent government report on education statistics (2008), notes that the literacy rates for women in India has steadily increased from 8.9% in 1951 to around 57% in 2004. Although substantial progress has been achieved since India won its independence when less than 8% of females were literate, the gains have not been rapid enough to keep pace with population growth. We have analysed the data to understand the status of female education in India.