The difference that was talked about for years now seems to be gradually reducing. Now daughters are no longer lagging behind in the field of education, but have moved ahead in many places. From school to PG, whether it is enrollment or passing, girls are seen to be more than boys.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) report ‘Women and Men in India 2025’ shows that a new generation is writing the story of change in education. Where once sending girls to school was considered a challenge, now they are making their strong presence felt at every level of education.

to be ahead of the curve in school

According to the report, enrollment of girls from primary to higher secondary level is more than that of boys. This means that now girls are ahead in numbers in schools. This change has become more clearly visible after the new education policy. The presence of girls has increased at every stage, from foundation to secondary level.

Not only enrolment, but the school dropout rate has also reduced. There has been a decline in dropouts between 2022-23 to 2024-25. Girls, especially at the middle and preparatory levels, have performed better in continuing their studies. Although some students are still leaving studies at the secondary level, the situation is better than before.

generation gap in literacy

In terms of total literacy in the country, there is still a gap of about 14 percent between men and women. But this difference has reduced to only 3.8 percent among youth aged 15 to 24 years. This shows that girls are progressing rapidly in the new generation. While female literacy was only 30.6 percent in 1981, now it has reached above 70 percent.

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Increasing participation in higher education

The picture is changing at the college and university level also. The Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of girls in higher education has increased to 30.2 percent, while that of boys is 28.9 percent. That means the number of girls taking admission in college is now more. The report shows that 51.48 percent of the total passing students are women.

The special thing is that at higher levels like MPhil, 76 percent are girls. More than half of the undergraduate and postgraduate students are also girls. Although participation in studies has increased, there is still a difference in the selection of subjects. Girls are more in arts, science, social science and medical fields. At the same time, the number of boys is still more in engineering, technology, IT and management.

Difference in years of study and expenses

Another interesting thing has come to light. The average education of women is 7.4 years, while the country’s average is 8.4 years. This means that many girls still leave school early. On an average, Rs 13,901 is spent on the education of boys in a year, while Rs 12,101 is spent on girls’ education.

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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made a big announcement regarding education and women empowerment in the General Budget 2026-27. The government has announced to build a girls hostel in every district of the country. Its objective is to provide safe and convenient accommodation to girl students and working women coming from remote and rural areas. In such a situation, let us now tell you that girls hostels will open in every district of the country but who will get accommodation here and how.

Girl students will get safe and easy accommodation

This announcement made in the budget is expected to provide great relief to those girls who go to study outside their homes, especially in cities, for higher education. Currently, due to lack of girls hostel facilities in many districts, girl students have to travel 40 to 50 kilometers daily or live in unsafe conditions in rented rooms. The construction of new hostels will provide them the facility to live in a safe environment. Apart from this, the announcement of girls hostel will also benefit the girl students doing courses like Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. According to education experts, if the housing problem is resolved, the admission of girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses can increase. The Education Ministry was already working on this scheme, which has now been approved through the budget.

Target to increase enrollment to 50 percent by 2035

Under the new education policy, the government has set a target of increasing the enrollment of girl students in higher education by 50 percent. At present this figure is around 29 percent. The government believes that the construction of girls’ hostels in Haryana will increase the participation of girls in higher education and will help in achieving this goal.

Working women will also benefit

The benefits of this scheme will not be limited to girl students only. Women coming for jobs from other districts will also be able to get the facility to stay in these hostels. This will provide safe housing to women and make it easier for them to choose better employment opportunities. The Finance Minister said in the budget speech that development, inclusion and social empowerment have been given priority in this year’s budget. Construction of girls hostels in every district is being considered an important step in this direction, which will strengthen the participation of women in both education and employment sectors.

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