In colonial India, the British missionaries laid the foundation for English education in the 18th century. However, the female education was the most challenging aspect the British encountered. Social customs such as the Purdah system, seclusion of girls and child marriages were some of the major challenges for the British government and Indian social reformers for bringing girls to schools. Due to efforts of many social reformers such as Jyotibha Phule and Savitirbai Phule, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, to name a few, girls started to attend school. Though numbers were few and mostly upper-elite caste women benefitted from the educational reforms. As these male social reformers who were in favour of women’s education came from an upper-elite caste, they had easy access to in-group elite caste women. The British started female education in urban areas, the areas which were easily accessible for them (Garg 2013). Western education was introduced by the British initially with
24 For more information please refer to https://www.census2011.co.in/literacy.php and
http://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/reports_and_publication/statistical_publication/social_statistics/Cha pter_3.pdf. Accessed 13 April, 2018.
an aim to prepare Indian people for administration; they introduced the English language and humanities in the curriculum whereas technical and scientific education was not introduced to Indians (Garg 2013). Girls now also started acquiring the same education that boys did.
Nevertheless, due to socio-cultural restriction, upper-elite caste women made less progress compared to boys of their same peer group. The gap between upper elite boys and girls started widening further with the introduction of Western education in the country. At that time there was strong debate over the medium of instruction as many social reformers favoured oriental educational institutes with vernacular languages, whereas many others favoured Western English education. The British continued with English Western education to build up the Indian administrative service. However, after much debate, the British accepted different curriculum for girls including subjects like hygiene, needlework, cookery, domestic work. Especially primary and secondary education were formed to provide education for gender-roles and higher education for professional skills (Garg 2013). The growth of women’s education was slow but steady before independence. In Pune, Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule started the first school for girls in 1848.
3.2 Female Education in Post-Independent Period
India became independence in the year 1947 and the government of India formed a University Education Commission in the years 1947-194925. The commission submitted its recommendation, and a first five-year plan (1951-1956) considered these recommendations.
The plan was drafted with an aim for the welfare of both men and women26. However, the plan
25 The commission was formed under Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and other nine eminent educationists. The commission submitted its report in 1949 and comprehended its recommendation for female education in the first section, chapter XII. For more information, please refer to;
http://www.educationforallinindia.com/1949%20Report%20of%20the%20University%20Education%20Commi ssion.pdf. Page number: 342-352. Accessed 15 April, 2018.
26 Five -year plans are centralized and integrated national economic programs. The five- year plans were adopted by India from the then Soviet Union who implemented the five- year plan in 1920. The First Five Year Plan, Government of India, 1951, Chapter XXXIII, para 102, for more information please refer to
http://planningcommission.gov.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/default.html. Accessed 15 April, 2018.
sought the welfare of women for the sake of family and community and this trend concerning welfare education for women continued until 1985 (Sen 2008).
In the sixth (1980-1985) and seventh five- year plan (1985-1990), the government of India realized women as equal contributors in the development of the country and the aim of education shifted from being about the welfare of women to being about mere stakeholders in the country’s development. To make women a part of the country’s development process, to increase skilled labour population in the country, the government started various educational and vocational training programs (Sen 2008). The eighth five-year plan (1992-1997) focused on human resource development through education, where education was seen as a catalyst to improve health, nutrition, and socio-economic opportunities for the citizen of the country.
Especially the five-year plan emphasized increasing female literacy to control the growth of the population, infant mortality, and maternal mortality rate27. In the ninth five- year plan (1997-2002), for the first time, the government set the objective of the ‘empowerment of women’ to create a free environment for women to exercise their rights. To fulfil this objective the government has set up a strategy to ensure equal and easy access to education for women and to eliminate gender bias in all educational programs, to equip women with skills and vocational training for better employment28. In the year 2002, the constitution granted right to education, under article 21-A, to provide free and compulsory education for children from 6 to 14 years of age as a fundamental right. The tenth five-year plan (2002-2007) continued with the objective of women empowerment. In the eleventh five- year plan (2007-2011) the objective of education was to focus on growth and progress of women through increasing
27 8th five year plan, volume II, for more information please refer to
http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/8th/vol2/8v2ch11.htm. Accessed 16 April, 2018.
28 Ninth five year plan, volume II, para 3.8.27. For more information, please refer to
http://planningcommission.gov.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/default.html. Accessed 16 April, 2018
literacy rates, increasing the percentage of higher education and lowering the gender gap in literacy29.
Various programs adopted by the government for the universalization of education have achieved considerable growth in female literacy and narrowed the gap between male and female literacy. Government program of universalization of elementary education also has achieved literacy for lower caste female. The literacy rate was 3.29% in 1961 in 2011census registered good growth of 56.50%. For ST it was 3.16% in 1961 and increased to 49.35% in the 2011 census30. There is a considerable growth in the SC and ST female literacy rate but in spite of the reservation policy in government educational institutes, the percentage of SC and ST women in a higher education group is significantly low (Gautam 2015; Chanana, 2012;
Deshpande, 2006; Weisskopf, 2004; Rao, 2002).
The above background information on the development of female education was explained to understand the aim and objective of female education and its impact on the empowerment process. Explaining the development of the women’s movement and education in the country since independence, in the following sub-section, the researcher discusses development and structure of the current study.