Gender Equality in Higher Education in India Kalyana Bondre

8/20/2019 Gender Equality in Higher Education in India Kalyana Bondre

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Gender Inequality in Higher Education in

India:

The Sustainability Paradox

By

Dr. Kalyani Bondre

Indian !ederation o" #ni$ersity %o&en's (ssociations)

( *esearch Pa+er +resented at

The ,-st Triennial /on"erence o" the

Inernational !ederation o" #ni$ersity %o&enIstanbul Tur0ey 1 -2 to 3- (ugust 34-,

on

%o&en's role in achie$ing a sustainable"uture:

Education urbanisation $iolence and hu&anrights

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-. Introduction:

-.- De5nition and /ontext:

Higher Education is generally de5ned as education beyond secondary school

i.e. education +ro$ided by colleges uni$ersities and +ro"essional institutes. Itis 6ell70no6n that higher education is a 0ey to achie$ing econo&ic and

socio7cultural +rogress and hu&an de$elo+&ent in any country. It is also

necessary that access to higher education should be a$ailable to e$ery

citi8en o" the country regardless o" gender or caste. The six +illars o" hu&an

de$elo+&ent: equity sustainability +roducti$ity e&+o6er&ent coo+eration

and security cannot be achie$ed in a syste& 6here only a +art o" the

+o+ulation has access to quality higher education. Hence equal access and

o++ortunity to all is the basic require&ent "or building sustainable societies.

The #nited 9ations International /o$enant on Econo&ic Social and /ultural*ights o" -22 declares in (rticle -, that ;higher education shall be &ade

equally accessible to all on the basis o" ca+acity by e$ery a++ro+riate

&eans and in +articular by the +rogressi$e introduction o" "ree

education;.The Indian /onstitution &entions -=). In India the Kothari /o&&ission

had &ade reco&&endations in -2?722 on equality in educational

o++ortunities "or &en and 6o&en.

In recent years higher education in India has seen a $ast increase in

establish&ent o" institutes and uni$ersities student enroll&ent and

+articularly enroll&ent o" 6o&en students. The Go$ern&ent has launched a

$ariety o" sche&es to +ro&ote education a&ong 6o&en. Ho6e$er genderinequalities in education still +re$ail. These are &ainly socio7econo&ic and

socio7cultural in nature.

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-.3 !ocus o" the +resent +a+er:

This +a+er tries to analyse t6o &a@or as+ects o" sustainability: social and

econo&ic by using an ex+loratory and descri+ti$e &ethod. %hile an

equitable education syste& is essential in contributing to socio7econo&ic

sustainability there exits a trade7oA since +ro$iding higher education to all

&ay not be econo&ically $iable on the &acro7le$el. This +a+er also tries to

analyse this trade7oA and the econo&ic $iability o" the +ro$ision o" higher

education to all in India in the context o" socio7econo&ic and cultural

sustainability. ( bigger question ho6e$er is that e$en i" the +ro$ision o"

higher education to all 6ere econo&ically $iable on the &acro7le$el 6ill it

ensure gender equality in the long run. The crux o" the &atter hence is to

loo0 at the +roble& holistically and try to 5nd out 6hether the +roble& is

only that o" +ro$ision o" higher education to all and equal o++ortunities to&en and 6o&en "ro& all bac0grounds or i" the greater +roble& is that o"

e&+o6er&ent o" 6o&en through higher education trying to increase the

enrol&ent ratio o" "e&ale students and &a0ing the& quali5ed "or being

econo&ically and socially inde+endent. #n"ortunately $ery o"ten the

res+onsibility is du&+ed on the Go$ern&ent to &a0e budgetary +ro$isions

and +olicy initiati$es 6hen the real challenge is not @ust to increase

Go$ern&ent s+ending on higher education but see that the gi$en

in$est&ent and educational o++ortunities reach the +o+ulation "or 6hich

they are &eant and +roducti$ely lead to e&+o6ering the "e&ale +o+ulation

in areas and social syste&s 6here they are &ost li0ely to be &arginalised.

3. The Indian Higher Education Scenario:

Higher Education in India is +ro$ided by both the +ublic and +ri$ate

sector.The #ni$ersity Grants /o&&ission is the a+ex regulatory body o"

higher education in India. India has the largest nu&ber o" higher education

institutions in the 6orld. (ccording to the data +ublished by the inistry o"

Hu&an *esource De$elo+&ent Go$ern&ent o" India the nu&ber o"

#ni$ersitiesC#ni$ersity7le$el institutions has increased -= ti&es "ro& 3 in-4 to 4? in 344. The sector boasts o" ?3 /entral uni$ersities 3?, State

uni$ersities , State Pri$ate uni$ersities -,4 Dee&ed uni$ersities ,,

Institutions o" 9ational I&+ortance established under (cts o" Parlia&ent)

and 5$e Institutions established under $arious State legislations). The

nu&ber o" colleges has also registered a &ani"old increase 6ith @ust = in

-4 gro6ing to be &ore than ,4444 in 34--.

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2.1 Student Enrollment (both men and women):

(round 3. &illion students are enrolled in o$er ?444 degree and di+lo&a

institutions in India. T6o7thirds o" these institutes ha$e been set u+ by the

+ri$ate sector. #ndergraduate courses enroll =F o" the total nu&ber o"

students enrolled in degree courses. (round ?.3 &illion students are enrolled

in distance education +rogra&&es. Ho6e$er the Gross Enrol&ent *atio in

Higher Education in India is +egged at -=F 6hich ho6e$er is &uch belo6

the 6orld a$erage o" 3F /hina 32F) and Bra8il ,2F). The inistry o"

Hu&an *esource De$elo+&ent H*D) has stated that its Rashtriya

Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan *#S() Sche&e 6ill increase the Gross

Enrol&ent *atio GE*) "ro& -=F to ,4F. The sche&e is esti&ated to cost *s

4 billion. The Ti&es o" India uly 34-,).

3.3 Problems faced by the Higher Education Sector in India:

emand Su!!ly "a! and the ualistic Economy:

The +o+ulation o" India is -.3 billion according to the 34-- census

6ith a sex ratio o" ?4 "e&ales to -444 &ales. (++roxi&ately =.?F o"

the +o+ulation "alls in the age grou+ o" -7? years.India's large young

+o+ulation requires access to quality higher education in order to

achie$e a better socio7econo&ic +rogress.

(s &entioned earlier India has the largest nu&ber o" higher education

institutions in the 6orld. (t -4. &illion the nu&ber o" studentsenrolled is the third largest globally. Ho6e$er the Gross Enroll&ent

*atio -=F) is lo6 as co&+ared to other countries including

de$elo+ing countries. /ritical ga+s exist in the ca+acity and

&anage&ent syste&s o" the higher education structure.

India is a highly dualistic econo&y. ( dualistic econo&y is one 6here

t6o or &ore socio7econo&ic syste&s si&ultaneously exist together. In

India there exists a 6ide ga+ in the le$el o" inco&e and de$elo+&ent

bet6een $arious states. There is also a great rural7urban socio7econo&ic di$ide 6ithin the states. (s a result 6hile so&e sections o"

the +o+ulation both &en and 6o&en ha$e access to 6orld class

educational "acilities the greater &a@ority still re&ains outside the

+ur$ie6 o" quality higher education. Thus there exists a de&and

su++ly ga+ in higher education on the one hand and a lo6 gross


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enrol&ent ratio on the other.The sa&e goes "or regional dis+arities in

"acilities as 6ell 6hich "urther 6idens the ga+.

India has 6orld class institutes li0e the Indian Institutes o" Technology

IITs) and Indian Institutes o" anage&ent IIs) as 6ell as uni$ersities

oAering quality higher education in disci+lines ranging "ro&

engineering &edicine business &anage&ent la6 to the liberal and

5ne arts. Ho6e$er India's high quality institutes ha$e li&ited ca+acity

so deser$ing students ha$e to o+t "or belo6 the standard institutes and

uni$ersities. To tac0le this +roble& the Go$ern&ent has a +olicy to

start IITs and IIs in s&aller to6ns and cities. (lso due to $ery high

+o+ulation density in the urban areas and the resulting high real estate

+rices a lot o" ne6 institutes ha$e started residential ca&+uses in

se&i7rural areas and to6ns. Ho6e$er generally the "ees o" these

institutes are not aAordable to the &asses thus 0ee+ing the de&and7su++ly ga+ as it is.

#uality $ersus #uantity:

There is shortage o" quali5ed "aculty as nor&s "or higher +ositions in

teaching and acade&ics are quite stringent. There is acute shortage o"

"aculty in central uni$ersities ?4F) and state uni$ersities ,F).

Si&ilarly incenti$es "or research and acade&ics are also lo6er than

the other career o+tions a$ailable to +eo+le. So $ery o"ten it is an

econo&ic decision rather than an acade&ic one. There is also

inadequate enroll&ent in research as students o+t "or technical

courses li0e Engineering !inance and anage&ent as these sectors

+ay better than Education and *esearch. ery o"ten research is also

underta0en only to achie$e higher +ositions in uni$ersities and

educational institutes and &ay be o" a doubt"ul nature. (ccording to

the accreditation o" the 9ational (ssess&ent and (ccreditation /ouncil

9((/) 23F o" uni$ersities and 4F o" colleges 6ere a$erage or

belo6 a$erage in 34-4.

%.&omen and Higher Education:

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There has been a great increase in the nu&ber o" uni$ersities and colleges

and student enroll&ent also o" "e&ale students. The enroll&ent o" lady

students has also increased "ro& ,, 42 444 in 344- to 4?444 in 34-47

--. Ho6e$er gender inequalities are still +re$alent to a large extent.

Gender Ga+ and Dis+arity in Gross Enrol&ent *atios in Higher Education

-=,7=? -=7== -,7? -73444 344?74

4

3

?

2

=

-4

-3

-?

-2

ale

!e&ale

Gender Ga+

Source: #G/ 344=

Gender dis+arities arise due to traditional role ex+ectations. E$en in

educated "a&ilies there still are traditional role ex+ectations "ro& 6o&en

+articularly &arried 6o&en. (s a result there is a high dro+7out rate o" to7

be7&arried or @ust7&arried 6o&en. ( sur$ey +ublished by the Ti&es 9e6s

9et6or0 in 34-- states that around 32F o" the students inter$ie6ed "or thesur$ey o" dro+7outs attributed their ste++ing bac0 to 5nancial +roble&s at

ho&e. Girls &ostly are in a dile&&a as they get into &arriage and start a

"a&ily. This constitutes F o" the cro6d. In the Indian society and culture

&arriage is traditionally +ercei$ed as an e$ent o" ut&ost i&+ortance in the

li"e o" a 6o&an and e$erything else 6or0 career education is o"ten

considered subser$ient.


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The social syste& is also co&+letely diAerent in $arious +arts o" the country

encouraging 6o&en to &a0e success"ul and inde+endent careers in the

de$elo+ed cities and business centres and con5ning the& to the "a&ily

chores in the interiors.

Social and "a&ily u+bringing o"ten leads to lo6er enrol&ent o" 6o&en in

higher education +articularly in +ro"essional courses li0e engineering and

technology 6hich are traditionally loo0ed at as the &ail do&ain.

Econo&ic Inequalities exist to a $ery large extent in the country along 6ith a

high +o+ulation. Jarge "a&ilies 6hich o"ten cannot +ro$ide "or the education

o" all the children still tend to gi$e +re"erence to the &ale child 6hen it

co&es to gi$ing educational o++ortunities. These dis+arities start at theschool le$el 6ith &ore nu&ber o" girls dro++ing out than boys 6hich are

socio7econo&ic in nature.

Gender Inequality in Higher Education: Gross (ttendance *atio G(*)

-73444 344?7344 3447344=

4

3

?

2

=

-4

-3

-?

-2

-=

34

ale

9ational ($erage

!e&ale

"' by gender ()

*statistics for 1+++,2--- and 2--,-/ is as !er student

=


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enrollment0 2---3 is as !er student attendance

Source: 4I55I (2--3)

Dis+arity bet6een the rural and urban 6o&en:

-73444 344?7344 3447344=

4

-4

-

34

3

,4

,

#rban

9ational ($erage

*ural

"' by rural and urban ()

*statistics for 1+++,2--- and 2--,-/ is as !er student

enrollment0 2---3 is as !er student attendance

Source: 4I55I (2-12)

.6ar7et economy and ine8uality

.1 &ill unfettered mar7ets sol$e the gender dis!arity !roblem9

India has a "ederal structure o" Go$ern&ent and Education is &entioned in

the concurrent list in the constitution o" India. This &eans that Education is

go$erned both by the /entre as 6ell as the indi$idual states. Indian higher

education continues to be one o" the &ost regulated sectors. In a series o"


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@udg&ents in the -4s the court ar&ed the state's right to inter"ere in

ad&ission +olicy and the "ee structure o" +ri$ate +ro"essional institutions on

the grounds that education being a "unda&ental right could not be the ob@ect

o" +ro5t see0ing acti$ity.

The branch o" Public !inance in Econo&ics &entions three ty+es o" goods:+ublic goods +ri$ate goods and &erit goods. Education is generally

considered a &erit good 6hich is +ercei$ed as bene5cial to society and

although it can be and o"ten is +ro$ided by the +ri$ate sector the +ublic

sector too +ro$ides it "or the bene5t o" the society. Hence &erit goods are

+ro$ided on the basis o" need rather than the ability and 6illingness to +ay.

The +ri$ate sector in education li0e any other +ri$ate ser$ice sector &ainly

"unctions 6ith the +ro5t &oti$e charging high "ees and +ercei$ed as gi$ing

high quality. In addition is the dual &is&atch bet6een de&and and su++ly.

This is &ainly due to the &ushroo&ing o" colleges and institutes all o$er thecountry 6hich has increased the su++ly o" a$erage and belo6 a$erage

quality educational "acilities on the one hand and the acute shortage o"

quality higher education institutes on the other. This has also reduced the

quality o" education. Thus in this context the "ree &ar0et &ay not ha$e a

solution to the +roble& o" gender inequality.

Ho6e$er one bene5t o" the &ar0et econo&y has been that +ri$ate

uni$ersities are o+ening u+ in re&ote areas 6ith residential ca&+uses due

to the sheer econo&ic bene5ts these +laces oAer.The econo&ic bene5tsarise &ainly "ro& the "act that these +laces ha$e a lo6er +o+ulation density

and hence co&+arati$ely lo6er eAecti$e de&and leading to lo6er +rices.

( sur$ey o" the Indian +o+ulation density 34-- sho6s quite a considerable

rise in the 5gures o" +o+ulation density in India. The records o" +o+ulation

density o" India state that the density has increased "ro& a 5gure o" ,3? to

that o" ,=3 +er square 0ilo&etre 6hich is considerably higher than the

a$erage +o+ulation density o" the 6orld 6hich is ?2 +er square 0ilo&etre.

*ecords re$eal that along 6ith the 6ide diAerence 6ith the +o+ulation

density o" the 6orld there are also a lot o" diAerences in the +o+ulationdensity o" the $arious states o" India. %hile the 9ational /a+ital *egion area

o" Delhi +ossesses the highest o" the +o+ulation density a&ong the states o"

India ha$ing a statistics o" --3 +er square 0ilo&etre the state o"

(runachal Pradesh has the lo6est record o" +o+ulation density ha$ing @ust -

+er square 0ilo&etre. It is $ery ob$ious that a higher density o" +o+ulation o"

a region 6ould essentially &ean that it is an urban area 6ith high buildings

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and other &odern as+ects 6hile the lo6 density o" +o+ulation o" region

6ould &ean that it is a rural area 6ith a +robability there &ight be lac0 o"

&odern a&enities in the region. 666.censusindia.co.in)

Thus 6ith the increasing nu&ber o" educational institutes o+ening u+ in

re&ote areas the +roble& o" regional i&balance in higher education is

so&e6hat tac0led but the +roble& o" high unaAordable "ees still re&ains.

.2. "o$ernment s!ending on higher education:

Go$ern&ent s+ending on higher education has been in the range o" ,47,F

o" the total s+ending on education 6ith al&ost 4F s+ending on ele&entary

education. /urrently +ublic sector or go$ern&ent in$est&ent in education is

less than ,F o" GDP including

a share o" higher education at 4.? +er cent or around -3F o" the aggregateeducation budget. Thecentral go$ern&ent s+ends slightly &ore than 3F o"

total +ublic ex+enditure and the state go$ern&ents s+end the re&aining

three7quarters. (bout 4 +er cent o" the central go$ern&ent's technical

education budget 6ent to the Indian Institutes o" Technology and Indian

Institutes o" anage&ent in 344-743. *eal +ublic ex+enditure +er student

has declined drastically since -47- "ro& *s. 22 to *s. 44 in 344374,

co&ing do6n by nearly 3= +ercentage +oints. This 6ould be e$en lo6er i" the

4F ex+enditure on national institutes o" excellence is le"t out. I/IE*/II

3442). Ex+erts belie$e that the go$ern&ent s+ending on higher education in

India is $ery lo6 as co&+ared to the require&ents o" the sector and the

+o+ulation.

The Indian Go$ern&ent also has a $ariety o" sche&es "or the bene5t o"

6o&en in higher education. These include the Sche&e "or De$elo+&ent o"

%o&enLs Studies in Indian #ni$ersities and /olleges Sche&e "or %o&en's

Hostels "or /olleges Sche&e "or /a+acity Building o" %o&en anagers in

Higher Education and so on. Ho6e$er the reach and s+read o" these

sche&es is still not as &uch as required.

.% he Economic rade,;


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due to higher subsidy bill and lo6er inco&e tax collections. Higher 5scal

de5cit is 6orsening India's 5scal +osition. InMation is a &a@or source o" 6orry

today and higher s+ending &ight aggra$ate the situation "urther. The last

t6o years ha$e seen analar&ingrise in the inMation rate 6hich 6as around

.,F in (+ril7Dece&ber 34-- and .F in 34-3. This gets the Indian

go$ern&ent to the o"t7re+eated


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social nature and the general o$erall u+bringing. The +syche o" the +eo+le

the traditional +atriarchal society the undue i&+ortance attached to the

&arriage o" the girl child as the "ocal +oint o" her li"e all need to be changed

so that 6o&en as a &a@ority 6ill be able to get the "ruits o" the e&erging

econo&ic de$elo+&ent in the country. In this context t6o $ery rele$ant

+oints need to be &ade:

-. The schools should ta0e u+ the res+onsibility o" +ro+ounding gender

equality not @ust a&ongst the children but also sensiti8ing the +arents

to6ards gender issues. This 6ill 6or0 in a t6o76ay +attern: the $alues

o" gender equality 6ill be inculcated in the children at a $ery young

age so that they beco&e enlightened and liberated citi8ens o"

to&orro6 and at the le$el o" the +arents 6ho 6ill bring out their

children in a &ore egalitarian s+irit.3. Structural curricular and +edagogical changes should be &ade in

Higher Education &a0ing it &ore e&+loy&ent "riendly. The Indian

education syste& is o"ten critici8ed "or being theoretically and

conce+tually $ery good but lac0ing in a++lication and de$elo+ing

e&+loy&ent +otential "or the indi$idual. /onnecting e&+loyability 6ith

education 6ill create a strong lin0 bet6een higher education and

econo&ic inde+endence and 6ill hel+ increase the gross enroll&ent

ratio and reduce the dro+7out rate both o" "e&ale as 6ell as &ale

students. E&+loy&ent o++ortunities 6ill act as an incenti$e "or

enroll&ent and retention.

The abo$e t6o +oints &ay be treated as the outco&e o" this ex+loratory

research +a+er and &ay be ta0en as hy+otheses in "urther long7ter&

sociological and socio7econo&ic research in this area.

. *eco&&endations:• ( concerted eAort to change the dualistic +attern o" the society is

essential "or a sustainable long ter& egalitarian society.• The Go$ern&ent is required to +lay a $ital role as &ar0et "ailures

exist leading to concentration o" equal o++ortunities "or 6o&en in a

"e6 elite cities and classes.• Pri$ate sector is essential to co&+le&ent the Go$ern&ent in

creating o++ortunities "or quality education "or 6o&en.• Ho6e$er an equitable society 6ill only be created 6hen +eo+le

understand the i&+ortance o" 6o&en's education and econo&ic

inde+endence and do not gi$e +re"erential treat&ent to the &ale

-,


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child +articularly in the less de$elo+ed areas and socio7econo&ic

classes.• Jastly econo&ic inde+endence is the 0ey to social inde+endence

and young 6o&en should be encouraged to earn 6hile they learn

and continue to do so e$en later.

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E!ilogue:

Pune0 the ;=ford of the East

I co&e "ro& the city o" Pune in India 6hich is o"ten re"erred to as the x"ordo" the East' the seat o" education o" the country. Pune is "a&ous "or

+ioneering 6or0 o" 6o&en's education in the country in the -th century. Thestal6arts o" the Indian "reedo& struggle reali8ed the i&+ortance o" educationin general 6o&en's education in +articular. Social re"or&ers li0e ahat&a yotirao Phule -=37-=4) and aharshi Dhondo Kesha$ Kar$e -==7-23)6or0ed hard to achie$e the goal o" educating 6o&en in the then orthodoxand highly discri&inating society.

ahat&a Phule a"ter educating his 6i"e Sa$itribai o+ened the 5rst school "orgirls in India in -=?= thus +ioneering 6o&en's education in the country. Healong6ith Sa$itribai 6or0ed relentlessly "or hu&an equality and dignity andthe education o" 6o&en and +eo+le "ro& the lo6er castes.

aharshi Kar$e started the Stree Si0shan Sanstha >rganisation "or %o&en'sEducation) at Hingane a suburb o" Pune. He started the 5rst 6o&en'suni$ersity in the country in --2. He 6or0ed "or 6ido6s' re&arriageconsidered a taboo at that ti&e and his organi8ation 6or0ed "or the shelterand education o" 6ido6s as 6ell. aharshi Kar$e tra$elled extensi$ely tos+read the cause o" 6o&en's education. He also lectured at $arious "oru&sin (&erica and England about 6o&en's education. He 6as a6arded theBharat *atna the highest ci$ilian a6ard in India "or his li"elong co&&it&entto 6o&en's rights.

Pune also has a history o" the strong and radical 6o&en 6ho re"used toacce+t the traditional &ale do&inance and "ought "or the rights o" 6o&en.>ne o" the 5rst +ublished 6or0s in gender equality 6as 6ritten by TarabaiShinde -=47--4) as early as in -==3. Si&ilarly Pandita *a&abai -==7-33) 6or0ed "or the cause o" 6o&en's education and abolishing child&arriage.

Today Pune en@oys a high status in the country "or its education and culture.It is one o" the largest cities in India 6ith &ore than a hundred educationalinstitutes nine uni$ersities oAering quality educational ser$ices 6ithstudents co&ing in "ro& not only across the country but across the 6orld. Inaddition it is a hub "or &anu"acturing auto&obile 5nance and IT

co&+anies 6ith a lot o" 6o&en e&+loyed in 0ey +ositions. The inde+endentand educated 6o&an o" today o6es a lot to the re$olutionary 6or0 o" thesocial re"or&ers o" Pune. It is ti&e no6 "or another social re$olution o" this0ind to dri$e &ore and &ore 6o&en to6ards higher education to re&o$egender inequalities in the country and creating a conduci$e en$iron&ent6here 6o&en 6ill be able to ta0e con5dent ste+s to6ards e&+o6er&ent andinde+endence.

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eferences:


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include Q/urriculu& Design "or Sustainable (gricultural De$elo+&ent in IndiaR and

QThe Econo&ics o" >rganic !ar&ingR.

!or "urther in"or&ation contact her at 0alyanibondreg&ail.co&

-
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

Documents

Gender Equality in Higher Education in India Kalyana Bondre