Gender gap in education, too! There are more boys than girls in private schools.

Many big changes are being seen in the field of education, but a recent report has shocked everyone. According to this report, even today, the number of girls in private schools is very low compared to boys.

Every child has the right to education, whether it is a boy or a girl. But in India even today this equality is limited to papers. Especially when it comes to private schools, this inequality becomes even more clear. A recent report shows that the number of boys in the country's private schools is still much higher than that of girls and this gap has remained constant instead of decreasing in the last ten years.

In the last decade, the popularity of private schools in India has increased rapidly. The trust of parents on government schools has decreased and they are getting their children admitted in private schools in the hope of better facilities and English medium. But this change has mostly benefited boys.

According to the data, in 2023-24, 61 percent of the total children studying in private schools are boys, while the share of girls is only 39 percent. That is, only 4 out of every 10 students are girls. In contrast, the share of girls in government schools is about 49 percent, which shows a slightly better situation.

These states are performing better

According to the reports, this inequality is not limited to only one or two states. This gap is deeper especially in the states of North India and Western India. In states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab, the enrollment of girls in private schools is even below the national average (48.1%). At the same time, some states of Northeast India like Meghalaya and Mizoram are performing better in this matter, where the share of girls is relatively higher.

What are the reasons?

Now the question arises that why is this happening? Many reasons come to the fore. The first is family thinking. Even today, many families consider only boys worth investing in education. The second reason is the expensive fees of private schools, due to which sometimes families can afford the education of only one child and in that case they give preference to a boy. The third big concern is the safety of girls and the distance of the school, due to which many parents do not send their girls to distant private schools.