National Education Policy and Gender Inclusion (original) (raw)

2022, International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Management (IJAEM) Volume 4, Issue 5 May 2022, pp: 1489-1494 www.ijaem.net ISSN: 2395-5252

ABSTRACT The education system in India has been the most neglected despite economic reforms in 1994. From millennia, India is the land of iconic women who played a unique role in governance, policymaking, defense, religion, etc. and brought many drastic reforms in society. But 800 years of colonization by foreign invaders has deteriorated the core moral, cultural, and educational values of the country. The Sultanate and Mughal rulers were incredibly against women‟s education, and Britishers had no interest in it. According to the India Census, 2011, the overall literacy rate in India is 73%. But, women‟s literacy rate is only 65%. There is a gender gap of around 16% between male and female literacy rates. This gender split is higher in rural areas. The rural female literacy rate is only 57%, while the rural male literacy rate is higher at 77%. However, according to the All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE)[ report 2018-19], the gender gap in the country narrowed as compared to the previous years after several new policy interventions by current govt. The female students constituted almost half (approx. 48.6%) of the total enrolment in higher education. Nevertheless, there is a long way to go.