GENDER EQUITY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF WEST BENGAL: A CRITICAL STUDY

Full text

Knowex Social Sciences Journal
Vol.1, No.2, 23-36, 2020, ISSN 2705-9901 (Online)
Copyright © 2020 TIIKM PUBLISHING
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17501/27059901.2020.1203
*Corresponding author’s email: ranjita.vasantabhu@gmail.com
GENDER EQUITY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF
WEST BENGAL: A CRITICAL STUDY
Marak R1* and Sutradhar P2
1Vasanta College for Women, Rajghat, Varanasi, UP, India
2North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
Abstract: Independence brought the dream of an egalitarian, just, democratic society in
which both men and women would have a voice and play an important role as agencies of
social change, but the reality that gradually dawned was different (NCERT, 2013). While
educational policies emphasize equity in universal access to education and increasing the
participation of gender in the education process, the literacy rate depicts something different.
Achieving gender equity in and through has been a long-standing goal of the education
policy in India (GOI, NPE, 1986). Despite significant improvement in the enrolment of girls,
girls from disadvantaged communities continue to form the bulk of out-of-school children.
Retention and participation of girl student is still an issue. So, there is a need to understand
the forces (both push and pull) that shape female access to education, especially in the
context of the recent rapid structural transformation of Indian society. In this pursuit, the
present paper will reflect the trends of literacy rate and enrolment in Secondary schools of
West Bengal from a gender perspective. And it will explore important factors that affect
gender equity in Secondary schools of West Bengal. The study will be based on secondary
data which will accord data available from different sources like Census, NSSO, U-DISE,
articles, books, MHRD reports on school education, newspaper articles, published and
unpublished research work etc. This study will scoop out the rough patches of existing
educational practices and their space for gender equity.
Keywords: access, gender equity, secondary schools
Introduction
Commitments to gender equality in education have always been a major concern for progressive
education policy in India. But still, problems of gender disparity and discrimination is the most
prominent issue in India’s pursuit for achieving education for all: a legacy of non-productive practices
that lead to ineffective learning and increases the dropout rate and repetition. To overcome the problems
faced by girls, several measures have been initiated across the country but what impact have these made
as reflected in the available statistics remains a huge concern. India accounts for 25.96% of the world’s
total illiterate population and around 64.62% of these illiterates are women. As per 2011 Census data,
women constitute 48.57% of the total population in India, but around 34.54% of women are still found
to be illiterate.
The National Policy on Education, 1986 put specific emphasis on women’s education. The chapter titled
‘Education for Women’s Equality’ states: “Education will be used as an agent of basic change in the
status of women. In order to neutralise the accumulated distortions of the past, there will be a well-
conceived edge in favour of women. The national education system will play a positive, interventionist
role in the empowerment of women. It will foster the development of new values through redesigned
curricula, textbooks, the training and orientation of teachers, decision-makers and administrators, and

Marak R and Sutradhar P
24
the active involvement of educational institutions. This will be an act of faith and social engineering…
The removal of women’s illiteracy and obstacles inhibiting their access to, and retention in, elementary
education will receive overriding priority through the provision of special support services, setting of
time targets, and effective monitoring.....”(NPE, 1986)
1
.
Besides the NPE 1986, India is also a signatory to several international treaties that reinforce this
commitment, such as The Dakar Framework for Action 2000, and the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals 2000, the Programme of Action 1992, CEDAW
2
1993, The Beijing declaration
1995, and the World Conference on Education for All. Samagra Shiksha
3
also emphasized bridging the
gender and social gap in school education (MHRD
4
, 2018). However, in spite of such policy initiative
data shows a widening gender gap concerning attendance and drop out. The literacy gap and the lack
of participation of girls in education remains a worrisome aspect for the nation even today, especially
in the context of girls from marginalised groups and rural areas. In the majority of the Indian households,
preference is given for the wellbeing and educational needs of boys in contrast to girls because of the
strong preference towards patriarchal society.
In spite of impressive gains in the participation of children in schooling, a large number of girls still
face difficulties in entering school and continuing their studies. The situation is quite adverse in the
states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, where more girls
continue to remain out of school than boys and more likely these disparities have increased steadily at
higher levels of education. Hence, standing in this threshold, this paper goes to understand the
accessibility in terms of literacy rate and enrolment of girls and boys, determining factors of enrolment
and how those factors are influenced by pre-defined gender notion. It also tries to understand forces
(both push and pull) that shape female access to secondary education in West Bengal, especially in the
context of the recent rapid structural transformation of Indian society and an endeavor to identify new
spaces and language to promote greater gender equality.
The Rationale of the Study
Secondary education renders immense social and economic benefits but often lack to retain major
concern in our education system. Undoubtedly our country has witnessed a remarkable achievement in
the sector of primary education but the same doesn't stand for secondary education and higher secondary
education. Secondary education plays a pivotal role as it prepares the workforce for the labour market
and creates opportunities for students to acquire higher education. But researches show that secondary
education has often been neglected not only at the policy level but also in research and analysis. At
present in West Bengal impressive progression has also been made at the primary as well as in the
secondary level of education. According to the 2011 census, the West Bengal literacy rate (77.08%) is
higher than the national literacy rate (74.04%). West Bengal has held the 20th position in literacy rate
1
Part IV Education for Women’s Equality, cited in National Policy on Education,1986, pp.6
2
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted in 1979 by
the UN General Assembly
3
Centrally Sponsored Integrated Scheme for School Education, MHRD, 2018
4
Ministry of Human Resource Development

Gender Equity in Secondary Schools of West Bengal: A Critical Study
25
among all states and union territories. In West Bengal 92.82 percentages of habitations have secondary
stage schooling facility up to a distance of 5 km. The number of secondary schools increases from 9773
in 2012-2013 to 10359 in 2016-2017. The teacher-pupil ratio also declined from 1:45 in 2012-2013 to
1:19 in 2016-2017.
But despite all of these significant achievements, achieving the goal of universalization of secondary
education and RMSA
5
remains far out of sight. If we look at the percentage distribution of children and
adolescents of different age groups across different educational levels, it is disturbing to note that only
12.3 percent of boys and 11.7 percent of girls in the 15 years and above age group have ventured beyond
middle school in the rural part of West Bengal. Similarly, only 14.5 percent of boys and 14.9 percent
of girls are studying in secondary school and above in the urban part of West Bengal. The gender gap
in the literacy rate of the rural & urban part of West Bengal is 9.4 percent and 6.7 percent respectively.
An overwhelming number of children barely complete primary school, with many of them dropping
out before they reach (NSS 75th Round, 2017)
6
.
Standing on the brink between adulthood and childhood - their predicament has been largely ignored.
Adolescent girls are vulnerable. A very large number enter into matrimony and become young mothers
and take on household responsibilities before they have the opportunity to realise their full potential. In
the age group, 3 to 35 years, among the never enrolled persons, 11.7 % females and 1.5 % males were
never enrolled as they were engaged in economic activities. As per NSS 75th Round (July 2017- June
2018), for persons in the age group, 3 - 35 years ever enrolled, 30.2 % of females are currently not
attending education due to engagement in domestic activities. The percentage of women representation
in the Central Council of Ministers has decreased from 17.8 % in 2015 to 10.5 % in 2019. Census data
for the state hides wide intra-state regional differences and variations across communities. The situation
is more critical for the marginalized section who are not merely deprived of the basic necessity of life
but also have to face severe hardship to earn their livelihood. Hence preferred their girl child either to
discontinue their studies or to engage in household activities. According to NCAER / HDI survey, it is
evident that “even in relatively advanced areas like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, while enrolment
rates are high, most of the discontinuation happens in the 12-14 age group – especially for girls”
(Ramachandran 2003)
7
. From the above, it is apparent that there is an enormous lack of researches
concerning Gender Equity in the Secondary Schools of West Bengal. This denotes a knowledge gap in
context, which is expected to be fulfilled by the present researcher.
5
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, 2009, a flagship scheme of Government of India, to enhance
access to secondary education and improve its quality
6
The survey of Household Social Consumption on Education in India conducted by National Stistical
Office(NSO), cited in Government of India (July 2017-June 2018)
7
Paper commissioned for the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2003/4, The Leap to Equality, pp.6

Marak R and Sutradhar P
26
Objectives
From the above observation, the researcher will discuss the following objectives.
1. To study the trends of literacy rate in secondary schools of West Bengal from a gender
perspective.
2. To study the trends of enrolment in secondary schools of West Bengal from a gender
perspective.
3. To explore important factors that affect gender equity in secondary schools of West
Bengal.
Methodology
The present paper entitled “Gender Equity in Secondary Schools of West Bengal: A Critical Study” is
descriptive in nature. Keeping in view the limitation of time, availability of resources and energy, the
researcher conducted the study based on secondary data. In this paper data from Census, NSSO, U-
DISE, MHRD reports on school education, various policies & commissions have been extensively used.
The researcher also goes through some national and international journals related to the issues of access,
equity, and quality in secondary education Thus, the researcher utilized all resources available and
carried out an exhaustive study for the present research paper.
Analysis and Interpretation
Trends of Literacy rate in secondary schools of West Bengal
Table 1: District wise trends of literacy rate of secondary schools of West Bengal
Sl.
No.
District/State
1981
1991
2001
2011
M
F
M
F
M
F
M
F
1.
Darjeeling
51.6
32.4
67.1
47.8
81.3
63.9
85.6
73.3
2.
Jalpaiguri
38.5
20.5
56
33.2
73.6
52.9
80
66.2
3.
Cooch Behar
40
19.3
57.4
33.3
76.8
57
80.7
68.5
4.
Uttar Dinajpur
36.1
17.1
45.2
22.9
59.3
37.2
66.5
52.2
5.
Dakshin Dinajpur
56.8
35.3
73.3
55.12
78.4
67
6.
Malda
31.5
14.2
45.6
24.9
59.24
41.7
66.2
57
7.
Murshidabad
32.4
17.3
46.4
29.6
61.4
48.3
70
63
8.
Birbhum
43
24
56.3
37.2
71.6
52.21
77
64.1
9.
Bardhaman
50.9
33.8
71.1
51.5
79.3
62
82.4
69.6
10.
Nadia
43.7
29.4
60.1
44.4
72.7
60
78.8
71
11.
North 24 Pargana
55.4
35.4
60.1
58
84.4
72.13
87.6
80.3
12.
South 24 Pargana
68.5
40.6
79.9
59.7
83.4
71.4
13.
Hoogly
57.9
38.8
75.8
56.9
83
67.7
87
76
14.
Bankura
49.4
23.1
66.8
36.6
77.2
49.8
80
60

Gender Equity in Secondary Schools of West Bengal: A Critical Study
27
15.
Purulia
45.6
13.3
62.2
23.2
74.2
37.2
77.9
50.5
16.
Medinapur
55.3
29.7
81.3
56.6
85.9
59.7
88.8
76
17.
Howrah
60.7
40.8
76.1
57.8
83.7
71
87
79.4
18.
Kolkata
73.2
63.1
81.9
72.1
84
78
88.3
84
WEST BENGAL
50.5
30.3
67.8
46.6
77
59.7
81.7
70.5
Source
8
: Census of West Bengal, 2011 & National Commission for Women, 2004.
From the above table 1, it can be interpreted that in recent years, West Bengal has reportedly shown
considerable improvement in literacy rate for both males as well as for females. Though the female
literacy rate has improved by 16.3% from 1981 – 1991, while the increase was 10.8 % during the next
decade. The gender gap in literacy has also narrowed with the due passage of time, although there was
still a gap of 11.2 percentage points between the genders according to the 2011 Census, in comparison
to a 20.2 percentage point gap 30 years earlier.
Further, while analysing District-wise literacy figures as given in Table 1, It can be seen that in 1981,
female literacy rates were usually lower than 30 percent in the districts of West Bengal (Kolkata and
Howrah being two notable exceptions); In 2011 about half the districts had reached or crossed the 60
percent mark. However, the female literacy rate continued to be lower than 55 percent in Uttar Dinajpur
and Purulia, both with a substantial component of the tribal population. It is striking to note that these
districts show a pervasive gender gap of 14 % and 27.4% respectively accompanied by Bankura district
which also reflects a huge gender gap of 20% as compared to all other districts of the state. Hence it
could be inferred that a comprehensive increase in the literacy rate of the state does not depict true
disparities that exist across the district.
Trends of Enrolment in secondary schools of West Bengal
The best indicator to measure access to secondary education is enrolment, which measures the total
number of enrolments of a specific academic year in secondary education. The enrolment status of
various social groups and religious minorities for both boys and girls during 2010 – 11 to 2016 – 17 at
secondary schools of West Bengal is presented in Table 2. To understand the access of secondary
education, the researcher analysed the 2010-11 to 2016-17 number of enrolment data of U-DISE of
West Bengal.
Table 2: Details of Enrolment of secondary school students of West Bengal
Secondary
Enrolment
(year)
2010-11
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
Total (in
numbers)
2206419
2414783
2534192
2630890
2759187
2594254
% of Girls
51.21
52.7
53.1
53.7
54.1
54.8
% of Boys
48.79
47.3
46.9
46.3
45.9
45.2
8
Note: Figures for North 24 Parganas stand for undivided 24 Parganas districts and figures for Uttar
Dinajpur stand for undivided Dakshin Dinajpur

Marak R and Sutradhar P
28
% of SC
Boys
51
49.58
49.18
48.68
48.16
46.92
% of SC
Girls
49
50.42
50.82
51.32
51.84
53.08
% of ST
Boys
53.7
50.40
49.14
49.21
47.99
47.06
% of ST
Girls
46.3
49.60
50.86
50.79
52.11
52.94
% of
Muslim
Girls
-
58.7
59.79
60.32
61.23
62.26
Source: U-DISE
9
: State Report Cards of 2010-11, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 & 2016-17.
From the above table, it is quite evident that there has been a considerable increase in the participation
of girls in school because of an increase in enrolments. However, substantial differences emerge when
figures are disaggregated for different social categories. While the enrolment trend is increasing for
girls among various social groups over the years but the trend is somewhat reverse for boys showing a
decline in enrolment trend. In 2010 -11, 49% of SC girls were enrolled in school as compared to 51%
SC boys and 46.3% of ST girls were enrolled as compared to 53.7% showing a gap of 2% and 7.4%
respectively. But the figure is strikingly different during the year 2016 – 17 with the increase in
enrolment percentage of SC and ST girls to 53.08% and 52.94% while the scenario is quite reverse for
the boys showing a reduction in the enrolment percentage to 46.92% and 47.06% respectively.
But the question arises do merely an increase in enrolment of girls entail a reduction in inequalities in
access and participation beyond entry-level, an increase in retention and attendance level and ensure
effective learning outcome?
Table 3: Percentage distribution of students of West Bengal by enrolment Status
Area
Enrolment Status 2017-18
Gender
Currently not attending
Currently
attending
Overall
Not
enrolled
Enrolled in
previous
year but not
attending
currently
Enrolled in
present year
but not
attending
currently
RURAL
MALE
11.5
46.1
0.3
42
100
FEMALE
13.1
44.4
0.2
42.3
100
URBAN
MALE
6.5
49.2
0.5
43.8
100
FEMALE
8.2
48.1
0.8
42.9
100
Source: NSSO Report (2017-2018).
9
Unified District Information on School Education, initiated in 2012-13 by Department of School
Education, MHRD, Government of India

Gender Equity in Secondary Schools of West Bengal: A Critical Study
29
From the above table, it is observed that though enrolled, a total of 57.7% of female students are
currently not attending secondary school in the rural part of West Bengal and the number is not quite
impressive for the urban part of West Bengal with 57.1% female students currently not attending
secondary schools. And the number is higher than currently attending.
Factors that affect gender equity in secondary schools of West Bengal
Availability of School
Unprecedented expansions of schools in the last two decades cannot be contested. What has to be
examined from the point of view of inequality in the system is the nature of these schools, their location
and the population groups that they serve. Improvements in educational access in West Bengal were
quite spectacular with 32.6% and 69.9% schools within a 1 KM radius and 6.7% and 0.5% schools
within a 5 KM radius in rural and urban West Bengal respectively. Intriguingly, the enormous expansion
of schools and improved supply and wider distribution of school infrastructure initiated through RMSA
however, fail to depict reduction in inequalities in access and participation beyond the entry-level,
marginal reduction of inequalities in overall attainment levels and inequalities in learning outcome.
Table 4: Percentage of Nearest School having Secondary level Classes
Area
% of Nearest School having secondary level Classes
Less than 1
Km
1 Km or
Greater
than but
less than 2
Km
2 Km or
Greater
than but
less than 3
Km
3 Km or
Greater
than but
less than 4
Km
4 Km or
Greater
than but
less than 5
Km
Overall
WEST
BENGAL
(RURAL)
32.6
33.2
17.5
10.1
6.7
100
INDIA
(RURAL)
37.5
23.9
16.3
8.9
13.5
100
WEST
BENGAL
(URBAN)
69.9
21.9
5
2.7
0.5
100
INDIA
(URBAN)
69.9
19.5
6.6
2.6
1.3
100
Source: NSSO Report (2017-2018).
With reference to Table 4, it is observed that inter-regional disparities get accentuated when we examine
access to secondary schooling concerning rural-urban variations through a proximate location. While
69.9% of schools are within a 1 KM radius in the urban region, the percentage falls drastically to 32.6%
in the rural region showing a gap of 37.3%. There were 6.7% nearest schools having secondary level
classes within a 5 KM radius in rural West Bengal and 0.5% nearest schools having secondary level
classes within a 5 KM radius in urban West Bengal.

Marak R and Sutradhar P
30
Therefore the availability of schools within walking distances from habitations is an important factor in
increasing girls’ enrolment. In NFHS-II
10
, 3.4% of urban and 5.2% of rural females were not enrolled
in school because of distance. The survey also reported that due to lack of access to schools about 7.5%
of rural girls and 1.2% of urban girls were pushed out. The score is lower in the case of boys: 1.4% for
rural and 0.3% for urban boys. This suggests that the non-availability of schools still affects girls’
education in rural areas.
Dropping Out
The dropout rate in comparison to enrolment is an important factor of quality measure of a specific level
of education. In this section, the researcher compares the class IX and class X dropout rate in
comparison to the enrolment of their level.
Table 5: Dropout rate of class X and Class IX during 2013-14 to 2016-17
Year
Class X
Class IX
Total Enrolment
Dropout Rate
Total Enrolment
Dropout Rate
2013-14
1065150
22.77
1171353
12.93
2014-15
1125441
20.68
1505449
13.42
2015-16
1230469
22.41
1528718
14.35
2016-17
1114974
28.25
1479280
25.87
Source: UDISE: State Report Cards of 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 & 2016-17.
Above table 5 shows that enrolment as well as dropout rate increases year by year among both the
classes. It is quite evident that in 2014-15 and 2015-16 dropout rate is less than the enrolment (in lakh)
but the dropout rate significantly increases in the year 2013-14 and last year 2016-17. In both classes,
enrolment is increasing in 2013-14 to 2014-15 and 2014-15 to 2015-16 as well as the dropout rate
slightly increasing year by year. From 2015-16 to 2016-17 enrolment in both classes has been
decreasing but the dropout rate drastically increased. National-level surveys and data also show that 9
out of every 10 girls ever enrolled in school could not complete schooling and only 1 out of every 100
girls enrolled in class reaches Class XII in rural areas and 14 out of every 100 girls enrolled in Class I
reach Class XII in urban areas (NCERT, 2006). The high dropout rates have always put a question mark
over the capacity of schools to retain their students, the quality of teaching, and ability of teachers and
above all efficacy of the system itself.
Reasons for children’s non-attendance
Why do children drop out? Why do the maximum number of girls fail to accomplish the secondary
stage? Why are learning outcomes poor? These questions have worried the thinking minds of the nation.
NSSO, 2017 has collected information on reasons for children’s non-attendance in school. Although
this information is not available separately for different social groups, the data elucidate why some
children never attend school and why others do drop out.
10
The second National Family Health Survey, conducted in 1998-99, Government of India

Gender Equity in Secondary Schools of West Bengal: A Critical Study
31
Table 6: Percentage distribution of secondary level students of West Bengal by major reason for currently not
attending
Area
Gende
r
Percentage distribution of ever enrolled persons by major reason for currently not
attending
Not
interes
ted in
educat
ion
Financi
al
constra
ints
Engag
ed in
domes
tic
activit
ies
Engag
ing in
econo
mic
activiti
es
Scho
ol is
far
awa
y
Una
ble
to
cope
up
with
studi
es
Com
plete
d
desir
ed
level/
class
Prepar
ation
for
compe
titive
exams
mar
riag
e
oth
ers
all
RUR
AL
MALE
20.6
40.9
1.2
26.5
0
5.6
1.7
0.8
-
2.6
100
FEMA
LE
13
34.3
16.6
1.7
1
4.8
1.4
0.3
20.
9
6
100
URB
AN
MALE
13.6
36.7
0.8
30.4
0
5.1
8.6
2.3
-
2.6
100
FEMA
LE
11.5
28.3
13.8
3.2
0.1
4.9
11.7
1.4
20.
4
4.7
100
Source: NSSO Report (2017-2018).
Table 7: Percentage distribution of secondary level students of West Bengal by major reason for never enrolled
Area
Gende
r
Percentage distribution of never enrolled persons by major reason for never enrolled
Not
interes
ted in
educat
ion
Financi
al
constra
ints
Engag
ed in
domes
tic
activit
ies
Engag
ing in
econo
mic
activiti
es
Scho
ol is
far
awa
y
Timings
of
educati
onal
instituti
on not
suitable
No
traditio
n in
commu
nity
marria
ge
othe
rs
all
RUR
AL
MALE
23.1
23.1
0.2
2.2
0.7
0.1
0.6
-
50.1
10
0
FEMA
LE
19.9
24.1
4.9
0.2
0.3
0.3
1.4
0.2
48.7
10
0
URB
AN
MALE
18.5
27.2
0.9
4.6
0.5
0
1.7
-
46.6
10
0
FEMA
LE
13.7
25
4.4
3.5
0.5
0
5.6
0.2
47
10
0
Source: NSSO Report (2017-2018).
From the above tables (6 & 7), it is well reflected that the high cost of providing education or financial
constraints and disinterest in studies accounted for nearly 50 percent of the boys in both rural and urban
areas who never attended school. For girls, along with the cost of education, their usefulness in the

Marak R and Sutradhar P
32
home and help in household work and marriages were given as major reasons for non-attendance. The
major reasons cited for children who dropped out of school were lack of interest, financial constraint,
marriages and the necessity for them to work for cash or kind at home or outside.
So, it can be interpreted that even though schooling is free, especially in rural areas, and more
specifically for girls, there are some hidden costs. Lack of interest in studies can stem from several
reasons, ranging from a disabling study environment in the home, lack of facilities in schools,
irregularity of teachers, lack of equity pedagogy, to the low social status of some children and their
families within the community leading to harassment in the school.
Gender Stereotyping in Schools
Gender stereotyping in textbooks and learning materials is also one of the fundamental systemic issues
that constrain progress towards gender equality in education. Several types of research argue that men
continue to be the main characters in textbooks and to be depicted in higher positions than women,
while women’s achievements are rarely recognized. To quote Position Paper National Focus Group on
Gender Issues in Education, “In my textbooks, I learned that only men are kings and soldiers. Till I read
a book in which famous, queens ruled and fought against enemies. In my textbooks I learned that only
men are doctors. When I went to the doctor, I saw that she was a woman. In my textbook I learned that
only men do farming in my country, until, on a train journey I saw women working in the fields. I have
learned that I have a lot to learn by seeing” - (NCERT, 2006).
Further, The POA (1992) noted the issue of the non-availability of Mathematics and science teachers
in girls’ schools and emphasizes the need to change the situation. However, there rarely exists any
monitoring mechanism to ensure actions on these policy directions. In fact, the choice of opting for
‘nonwomanly’ subjects remains only notional in most of the single-sex girls’ schools for want of
teachers in non-stereotyped courses (CABE Report, 2005)
11
. The reinforcement of this gender divide
can be seen even in the choice of vocational courses (Bandyopadhyay & Subrahmanian, 2008).
Gender differences in learning achievement
The examination system is necessarily held to test the learning ability and competency of a student.
Students in secondary schools of West Bengal have to have appeared in the grade X exam. These
examinations are significant because this certification becomes an instrument for higher education and
the selection of professional course. So, the researcher used this exam result as a performance indicator
of quality.
Table 8: Achievement of class X students during 2012-13 to 2016-17
Years
General
SC
ST
OBC
Boys
Girls
Boys
Girls
Boys
Girls
Boys
Girls
2012-13
89.87
82.71
82.56
74.36
76.58
64.61
86.37
74.76
2013-14
89.86
82.47
82.55
74.06
71.93
60.26
87.59
76.78
11
Report of the CABE Committee on Girls’ Education and the Common School System, cited in
MHRD, 2005, pp.8

Gender Equity in Secondary Schools of West Bengal: A Critical Study
33
2014-15
89.02
82.82
82.93
76.45
72.8
65.76
85.7
77.72
2015-16
89.86
84.94
79.64
75.43
74.99
67.87
85.67
76.92
2016-17
93.3
94.21
93.31
91.3
88.95
86.31
94.14
93.75
Source: UDISE: State Report Cards of 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 & 2016-17.
Table 8 clearly shows the learning outcome of class X students (both male & female) during 2012 – 13
to 2016 – 17 across all social groups. While the number of girls students passing in class X increases
substantially with the year among all social groups. But if compare the general, SC, ST and OBC it is
seen that the schedule caste and schedule tribe girl students in class X have a low pass out rate
throughout the year. Among all social group, schedule tribes are most educationally backward. If
compare the achievement of both boys and girls it has been observed that boys are consistently
performing better than the girls in the exam of class X. Only in the year 2016-17 girls perform better
than the boys in the general category.
And several types of research states that learning outcomes of girls across all social groups are also
influenced by a range of factors, including quality of educational facilities, teacher attendance, home
environment, socio-economic contexts, parental education, family size, attendance, household duties,
nutrition, and attendance at pre-school (Kingdon, 1998a; Bashir, 1994; Govinda and Varghese 1993;
Roy et al, 1995; World Bank, 1997; Ramachandran 2003a; Reddy 2004b; Govinda and Varghese 1993;
Aggarwal, 2000a; Hasan 1995) which narrow down their scope for further higher studies.
Other Challenging issues
In West Bengal to ensure secondary education, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education was
established under the West Bengal Secondary Education Act, 1963 and which was amended from time
to time. However, in terms of access, equity and quality, secondary education cannot be ensured totally.
Some issues emerged related to access, equity and quality of secondary education of West Bengal which
is discussed below.
1.1. India made a constitutional commitment to provide free and compulsory education to all
children up to age 14. So, there are no tuition fees up to class VIII. But when it comes to
secondary schools, “Several government-aided schools charge fees above the prescribed limit”(
Times of India, 2017). Which is not affordable for the students across various social groups
especially the marginalized section. Therefore there is a high dropout rate among the secondary
students of West Bengal due to the unbearable tuition fees and other additional costs. They
think that it is better to earn bread rather than earn for school fees.
1.2. There are various scholarship schemes of the government and private for the SC, ST and OBC
students. But the government never undertakes any initiative to create awareness among the
students about those schemes. Thus as a result of which students fail to avail those schemes.
Sometimes irregularities in the credit of the scholarship in the respective bank account
demotivate the students to actively engage in the teaching-learning process.
1.3. One of the major issues of secondary schools of West Bengal is the lack of ICT labs and
internet facility which affects student participation and retention.

Marak R and Sutradhar P
34
1.4. Since 2009 the school service commission of West Bengal is not conducting any teacher
recruitment process. As a result of which there is a dearth of trained teachers in the schools of
West Bengal which affects the quality of the teaching-learning process.
1.5. Table 2 shows that the enrolment of girls is higher than the boys in the secondary level. If
analysed the repetition in Class IX-X of girls, it is found that the repetition among the girls is
higher than the boys. So, enrolment of girls is showing the better condition of girls in terms of
equality but repetition talks about the stagnation of girls’ education.
Conclusion
One of the dimensions in educational development is equity particularly in a highly stratified society
like West Bengal. The educational expansion and dynamics of development and the delivery
mechanism of secondary education in West Bengal are well examined. But does this expansion entail
Equity? The Constitution of India guarantees the right to equality to all its citizen but in reality, to what
extent this equity prevails is a big question. So, policy initiatives must aim to achieve the target not only
in theory concerning enrolment and retention of girls students but also in terms of process and practice
ensuring relative achievement and performance at all levels and in all subjects. There needs to be an
ardent urge to promote girls' education and support them beyond the elementary level. Incentives
offered for promotion of girls’ education need to be revisited and the measures taken need to be of such
nature, force and magnitude that they can overcome the hurdles confronted by various factors such as
low socio-economic background, household responsibilities, engagement in economic activity, low
preference to girls’ education, early marriage, etc.
Henceforth, the goal of achieving the ‘ Education for All ’ should not merely rely on access to
educational facilities and enrolment alone; rather it requires an intense emphasis on a meaningful and
relevant curriculum, human resource management systems that ensure regularity and accountability,
and availability of qualified and professionally trained teachers, equity pedagogy, that would enable
enhanced student retention, attainment and achievement. A high number of tough questions need to be
asked and research studies are needed to focus on these questions in order to support improvements to
gender equity not only in West Bengal but across India.
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