(a) whether the level/standard of education among girls in Assam is not satisfactory;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the steps taken by the Government to ensure quality education amongst the girls and
women in Assam and other North Eastern States;
(d) whether the Government plans to release special assistance for education of girls in Assam; and
(e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
MINISTER OF THE STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (DR. D. PURANDESWARI)
(a) & (b): As per Statistics of School Education 2009-10 (Provisional), the Gender Parity Index (GPI) in Assam at primary level is 1.03 and 1.04 at primary and upper primary level respectively, which shows the higher level of girls’ participation in the elementary education. In addition, as per Statistics of School Education 2009-10 (Provisional), there has been decrease in the drop-out rate for girls in 2009-10 as compared to the previous year.
National Council of Education, Research and Training (NCERT) has completed third round of National Achievement Survey for class V, which shows that the performance of girls in Language, Mathematics and Environmental Science (EVS) is better than boys.
The Gender Parity Index (GPI) in higher education in Assam has been increased to 0.54 in 2009-10 from 0.53 in 2008-09
and GER has also increased to 6.2 in 2009-10 from 5.7 in 2008-09.
(c) to (e): As per Government’s directives, the Ministry of Human Resource Development earmarks 10% of its plan allocation for the North Eastern Region.
Equity is recognized as a cross-cutting issue under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), and the revised SSA Framework for implementation lays down that equity concerns should inform all aspects of elementary education. Steps taken to ensure quality education among girls include renewal of the curriculum, syllabus and textbooks, so that they are not gender-biased, training of teachers, provision for fifty percent of teachers sanctioned under SSA to be women teachers, implementation of National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) Scheme. NPEGEL is being implemented in 98 model cluster schools of 15 Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) in 8 districts of Assam and 57 KGBVs have been sanctioned for the State up to 2011-12. All the eight North Eastern States taken together, NPEGEL is being implemented in 45 EBBs and 142 KGBVs have been sanctioned. The other initiatives include: Early Childhood Education Facility, Incentive to girls for Secondary Education, Special Coaching Classes after school hours, Escorts to girls from and to School, Scheme of Construction & Running of Girls Hostel for Students of Secondary & Higher Secondary Schools and Mahila Samakhaya etc.
The education standard in North Eastern States including Assam has further improved due to launch of various schemes in
the higher education sector. The schemes include: Day Care Centers in Universities and Colleges, Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single girl Child for pursuing in Higher and Technical Education, Development of Women’s Studies in Universities and Colleges, Capacity Building of Women Managers in Higher Education and Post-Doctoral Fellowships for Women, Construction
of women hostels for colleges / polytechnics etc.
There are also schemes run by the Ministry which have bearing on the educational developments of girls in the higher education sector in the North Eastern Region. These are: (i) Scheme of 374 Model Degree Colleges – the scheme has been launched all over the country one each in such district, which has Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) below the national average. Out of these, 44 colleges are earmarked for North-Eastern Region against which, 18 have so far been sanctioned including
12 for Assam (ii) Fifty new Polytechnics have also been sanctioned in North Eastern Region including 9 polytechnics in Assam (iii) Scholarship for College and University Students – under the scheme, 82000 fresh scholarships per annum (41000 for boys and 41000 for girls) for pursuing higher studies and professional courses are provided. Out of 41000 girls scholarships, about 1478 are for North Eastern States including 1001 for Assam (iv) Central Scheme to provide full interest subsidy on Education Loan(v) Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) – under IGNOU, the Educational Development of North-East Region Unit has been established with the objective to create educational access and to equalize the opportunities of education and vocational training in the North East Region including the Assam State.
To cater to the requirement in higher/technical education, Nine Central Universities, eight National Institutes of Technology, one Indian Institute of Technology, one Central Institute of Technology at Kokrajhar, one North Eastern
Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), Itanagar have been set up.