Women Right To Education :A Review Of Educational Reforms In India

Abstract

Real advancement in any of the fields of human life, cannot be possible without women education. As Nehru said, “If you educate a man you educate an individual, however, if you educate a woman you educate a whole family. Woman empowerment means mother India empowered”. India which is the largest democracy of the world has a long history of educational reforms for women. In India, the concept of universal education, of providing a minimum standard of education to every boy and girl, is as old as the beginning of civilization in the subcontinent. But the position of women education became low by about eighteen century A.D... In British period the British government took many steps for women education. After achieving independence women education made faster progress. Various committees and Commissions were appointed to analyse the problems of girl’s education and suggest measures for its quantitative and qualitative development. The 86^th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 has made elementary education a Fundamental Right for children in the age group of 6-14 years. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 has come into force with from April 1, 2010. The country's literacy rate in 1947 was only 14 per cent and female literacy was very badly low at 8 per cent. As per recently concluded census 2011, Literacy rate in India has significantly increased from 18.33% in the year 1951 to 74.04% in the year 2011. More women literates added in the recent decade compared to men literates, so gap between men literates and women literates also reduced from 24.82 in 1991 to 16.68 in the year 2011 But in-spite of these efforts the rate of women education is increasing but not in proper manner.  This paper is an attempt to analyses the educational reforms in India for women in the pre and post independence, as well as achievements and problems which are being faced by the present Indian women. And study concluded with suggestions and measures to promote women education in future.