13 Gender and Educational Discourse

Dr. Sudeshna Mukherrjee

epgp books

 

 

Introduction:

 

The role of education is to encourage individuals to develop their full intellectual potential as rational human beings. But education systemhas long been challenged as being sexist, and patriarchal. Centuries of Feminist and reformist interventions might have made women’s entry into the academia possible, but we have yet to go miles to mitigate thegender gap in education.India accounts for 30% of the world’s total illiterate population and around 70% of these illiterates are women. Women constitute 48% of the total population in India, but around 35% of women are still found to be illiterate.

 

Gender based discrimination is the historically first known practice of oppression meted by one group against another in this world. Of the myriad forms of discrimination meted out against women, education is one of the most important tools for perpetuating oppression. Sitting in the same classroom, reading the same textbook, listening to the same teacher, boys and girls receive very different educations (Sadker, 1994). In fact, after entering school, girls perform equal to or better than boys on nearly every measure of achievement, but by the time they reach professional, technical and higher education their number dwindles drastically. Survivors of gender filtering also performs exceptionally well but still we find very few of them in decisive positions of parliament, judiciary, bureaucracy, boardrooms, laboratories and so on.

 

1.  History of Women’s Education in India:

 

Education in India started receiving some attention under British rule with the Charter Act of 1813 and obtained full recognition in the Macaulay’s Minute of 1835.But women were kept outside the purview of formal education. It is only when the “Wood’s Dispatch”, containing Educational development programme was passed in 1854 by the East India Company that a special reference was made to education and employment of women and the Government assumed direct responsibility for making women literate. Some progress of women’s education particularly at primary level was reported. Initiatives towards separate school for girls were predominantly efforts by individual philanthropists in nature. Some women were also imparted training for appointment as teachers in girls’ schools. But it is only from the year 1882, when systematised educational data began to be collected quinquennially, that the progress of women’s education came to be assessed.

 

During this period, women’s education got a further fillip, as a result of the rise in the age at marriage for women, and the awakening among women inspired by social reformers like Rammohan Roy, Vidyasagar, Dayananda Saraswati, Jyotiba Phule, Pandita Rama Bai and others. Mahatma Gandhi’s Movement and establishment of the All India Women’s Conference (1926) also added fuel to the fire.The Report of the Hartog Committee laidemphasis on women’s education which stated that education should not be the privilege of one sex only, but equally the right of both the sexes and that women’s education would be expanded further for the advancement of education in India.

 

Women’s education has long been acknowledged to have strong correlations with other dimensions of human and social development. Despite strong economic and social evidence of the high returns to female education, most communities continue to under-invest in female education relative to male education. Reasons for parental under-investment in female education are diverse and well-known (Subrahmanian, 2005).

 

Over the years there has been a rise in the number of women becoming literate, but the gender gap still remains as seen by the data in Table-1.

 

Source: MHRD Report on Women’s Education, 2014, Govt of India

 

2.  Social Benefits of Women’s Education:

  • Investment in women’s education leads to women’s increased participation inlabour force and subsequent expansion of the economy.
  • A variety of positive health outcomes (like better nutrition, better hygiene, better and prevention) for women and their families are known to flow from increased education.
  • Education generally leads to lower fertility rates as well as lower child mortality and optimum population
  • As primary caregivers, women have a key role in the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and education.
  • Decrease in gender based violence and oppression.
  • Presence of more women in key decision-making positions and there by engendering the patriarchal institutions.

 

 

3.  Barriers to Girls’ Education:

 

3.1.Traditional Patriarchal Mind-set and Undervaluation of women:

 

In the deeply caste-class embedded patriarchal society, traditional values, beliefs and customs dominate the perception of the importance of education for girls. Son preference, women’s lack of financial independence, custom of dowry often paves the belief that expenditure on daughter’s education is considered as unnecessary and avoidable.

 

Economic and social privilege also determines gendered patterns of access, with girls in secondary and higher education predominantly drawn from higher income and social groups, endowed with higher social status. Students in private schools do better than those in government schools possibly not only because of the facilities available but socio-economic background at home which supports them. Reasons for parental under-investment in female education are diverse and well-known (Subrahmanian, 2005).

 

Absence of women in top decision making positions and productive activities and association of female labour, identified primarily with the reproductive or household sphere, underlies the belief in many communities that educating females yield low returns. The gender division of labour continues to reward women less in the workplace. This also has resulted in relatively lower female education and work participation reflecting the ideological bias against considering women as producer (Subrahmanian, 2005).

 

Jha and Jhingran’s (2002) detailed study of schooling in communities across 10 districts of India shows the continued belief in the importance of marriage for girls at an early age, and of maintaining asymmetries between men and women in educational attainment as a marker of relatively greater male social status. While gender inequalities intensify with poverty, caste inequalities and geographical location (particularly in underdeveloped rural areas), particular gender-differentiated ideologies cut across all social groups. These gender-specific ideologies are responsible for the continued wide gaps in female secondary schooling enrolment (Jha and Jhingran’s, 2002).

 

3.2.Poverty:

 

The rate of illiteracy is closely linked to poverty. Due to the poverty or lowfamily income, if parents are not in a position to send both boys and girls to school,they usually send boys to schools and retain girls at home to do house-hold work. If education is free for girls there is possibility to increase the participationof girls and it will not put any kind of financial burden on the parents all the same. Often parents consider education expenditure as additional burden as under patriarchal social structure, in spite of educating their daughters they are expected to pay dowry during their marriage.

3.3. Availability and spatial location of School and lack of infrastructure:

 

Although in the last decade we have made significant initiatives in constructing schools, (during the 1990s there was a 14.19% increase in the number of primary schools and 51% increase in the number of secondary schools) many of the habitations predominantly inhabited by marginalized groups, particularly SC and ST population do not have access to formal school within 1-3 km distance. Long distance to school has been one of most cited reasons for never enrolling and dropping out among girls. Absence of separate ladies toilets often pushes post-puberty girls out of the education system. These infrastructural inadequacies increase their vulnerabilities towards sexual harassment.

 

3.4. Sexual Harassment and Gender based violence:

 

The socialization of gender within our schools assures that girls are made aware that they are unequal to boys. When an administrator ignores an act of sexual harassment, he or she is allowing the degradation of girls. A permissive attitude towards sexual harassment is the way in which schools reinforce the socialization of girls as inferior. Sexual harassment and violence continue to be major constraining factors preventing parents from freely sending their girls to school. Public spaces in India continue to be relatively hostile to the presence of women, and rarely function in a way as to make women feel secure and confident. Transporting girls to school and back safely, especially where secondary schools and universities are far away from their homes, is a critical policy measure that has received scant attention.

 

3.5. Gender Stereotyping in Schools:

 

In the process of both socialisation and education, it is the educational institutions that play a central role. When different type ofbehaviour are tolerated for boys than for girls because ‘boys will be boys’, schools are perpetuating the oppression of women. Teachers socialise girls towards a ‘feminine ideal’. Girls are praised for being neat, quiet, and calm, whereas boys are encouraged to think independently, be active and speak up (Bailey, 1992). The social knowledge relating to gender is constructed, validated and perpetuated by schools through textbooks, pedagogy skills, assessment and the academic milieu.In spite of significant presence of women in the classroom, there are fundamental systemic issues that constrain progress towards gender equality in education. For example, gender stereotyping in textbooks and learning materials persists. Men continue to be the main characters in textbooks and to be depicted in higher positions than women, while women’s achievements are rarely recognised. Still in textbooks mother only cooks and father goes to office. The behaviour of teachers within the classroom has been criticised for perpetuating gender stereotypes, with boys being favoured in many classroom activities (Pandey, 2006). Schools continue to use gender-biased texts: “We need to look at the stories we are telling our students and children. Far too many of our classroom examples, storybooks, and texts describe a world in which boys and men are bright, curious, brave, inventive, and powerful, but girls and women are silent , passive, and invisible” (McCormick, 1995) . Furthermore, teachers can help students identify gender-bias in texts and facilitate critical discussions as to why that bias exists. The need of the hour is a thorough review of textbooks, pedagogy skills, an assessment system and the school milieu.

 

3.6.Role of Teachers:

 

One of the greatest impediments to girls’ education in India is the lack of committed teachers who have genuine concerns for their wellbeing. It is by now an accepted fact that the presence of women teachers in primary schools makes a difference. It is true that women are preferred to men in the lower grades because they are supposed to handle children well. The underlying gender stereotype of women being soft on children cannot be ignored. But in spite the well recognised need for women teachers in the system the table below shows the gender–gap in the recruitment of teachers. Presence of women teachers in higher education assures parents on their daughters safety in the male dominated system and, therefore, higher retention. Too much of official and political interference in schools ,the deployment of teachers for various out of school jobs and overburdening them with many non-teaching responsibilities are bringing their morale down. Since teacher apathy and teacher absenteeism hit girl children the hardest all steps must be taken to ensure that teachers are entitled to a life of dignity (Indira, 2011).

Table: Pupil Teacher Ratio & Number of Female Teachers per 100 Male Teachers

 

5.2. National Strategies to Bridge Gender and Social Gaps in Elementary Education

 

While gender inequalities intensify with poverty, caste inequalities and geographical location (particularly in underdeveloped rural areas), particular gender-differentiated ideologies cut across all social groups, explaining why in all social groups, girls lag behind boys in access to and participation in education.(NCERT, 2006).The gender disparity also exists in higher education but in a different form. Women enrolment in Arts and Sciences is relatively better but in engineering and technical disciplines, streams closer to the industry, the enrolment ratio is very poor (388 girls per 1000 boys). The representation of women in elite institutions makes for a sad reading. In 2006, IITs enrolled only 6.21 percent women as students; it improved to 10.94 percent in 2011. Media reports suggest that women enrolment in IIMs is equally abysmal (Manukonda, 2013).

 

5.  Towards Gender Inclusive Education:

 

It is a universal truth that education is the driving force of economic and social development in any country. Education can play a catalyst’s role in mitigating gender –gap in the society. “Societies that expand freedom for women,” as Pratap Bhanu Mehta puts it, “create greater opportunities for participation, and provide a safe and enabling environment, flourish. Societies that lose the plot on this issue will flounder” (Manukonda, 2013).Social transformations of this kind cannot be accomplished by legislative interventions alone. It needs a sustained effort from all social and political institutions. Information Communication Technology (ICT) is radically transforming how we live and work, our future opportunities, our societies, and our economies.ICT can eliminate two most important constraints i.e. time and geographical barriers in education for women learners. Women, burdened with marriage, motherhood and domestic responsibilities get immense benefits out of flexi timings. Education and Information Communication Technology have been two of the most powerful forces of change in the last century.

 

6.2. Way forward:

 

According to noted education scientist Sadker, “Until educational sexism is eradicated, more than half our children will be short changed and their gifts lost to society” (Sadker, 1994).Thus to mitigate gender-gap in education we must:

  •  Sensitize all the stake holders, especially parents, about the values and transformative potential of women’s education.
  • Women’s education need to bepromoted and positive gender discrimination through reservation of seats and financial assistance for higher, professional and technical education should be considered in favour of women in order to – bridge the existing gap.
  • Educators need to be made aware of the bias they are reinforcing in their students through socialization messages, inequitable division of special education services, sexist texts and materials, and unbalanced time and types of attention spent to boys and girls in the classroom.
  • Media both print and electronic should play active role in countering gender and caste discrimination by carrying positive portrayal of women.
  •  In the process of bringing about gender equality in an educational environment, the department of education should network and work in close contact with those institutions(civil society organizations, Corporate social responsibility initiatives) working on gender sensitive issues.
  • Gender training should be imparted to teachers, concerned officials, staff, including education officials at the Block and District Education Offices, District Education and Training Institutes.
  • Every educational institution and other centres of learning should have a counselling centre for adolescents. Adequate arrangements should be made so that in every school for girl students and female staff has separate wash rooms. Adequate hostel facilities must be arranged for the girls pursuing education.
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References

  1. Ashish Hattangdi and Prof. AtanuGhosh. (2008). “Enhancing the quality and accessibility of higher education through the use of Information and Communication Technologies”. Occasional Paper
  2. Bailey, S. (1992). “How Schools shortchanges Girls: The AAUW Report”. NewYork, : Marlowe & Company
  3. Charu Walikhanna,National Commission for Women, Report of Expert Committee on Gender and Education, New Delhi
  4. Jha, J. and Jhingran, D (2002). Elementary Education for the Poorest and other Deprived Groups: The Real Challenge of Universalisation, Centre for Policy Research. New Delhi:
  5. Krupakar Manukonda, 2013, A Girl First, a Student later ,http://pragati.nationalinterest.in
  6. MHRD Report on Women’s Education, 2014, Govt of India
  7. NCERT Position paper, National Focus Group on Gender Issues in Education, NCERT, 2006.
  8. Pandey, K. (2006) Gender Issues and Indian Textbooks. In: Bruillard, É., Aamotsbakken, B., Knudsen, S.V. and Horsley, M.(eds.), Caught in the Web or Lost in the Textbook? Paris: STEF, IARTEM, IUFM, de Basse-Normandie
  9. Plomp, T.; Pelgrum, W. J. & Law, N. (2007). “SITES2006—International comparative survey of pedagogical practices and ICT in education”. Education and Information Technologies12(2), 83- 92.
  10. Ramachandran, V. (1998) Girls’ and Women’s Education: Policies and Implementation Mechanisms. Case Study: India. Bangkok: UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
  11. Ramachandran V(2003). Gender Equality In Education In India , Background paper prepared for the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2003/4 ,Gender and Education for All: The Leap to Equality
  12. R. Indira(2011).Education and the Girl Child, Schooling, Stratification and Inclusion: Some Reflections on the Sociology of Education in India (Editor: Yogendra Singh), New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training
  13. Sadker, D, Sadker M. (1994). “Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls.”ON: Simon & Schuster Inc., Toronto
  14. Subrahmanian R. (2005) Gender Equality in Education: Definitions and Measurements. International Journal of Educational Development, 25(4): pp. 395-407