Education
Rural India Shows Sharp Gender Gap in Upper‑Secondary Completion, UNESCO Report Finds
A UNESCO Global Education Monitoring report released in Paris on Friday titled "Gender Equity in Access to Education" shows that girls in India remain disadvantaged overall, with an adjusted gender parity index of 0.89 for upper‑secondary completion. The report highlights a stark rural‑urban divide: in rural areas only 59 girls complete upper‑secondary school for every 100 boys, while parity has been reached in urban areas. The Gender Parity Index (GPI) is calculated by dividing the number of female students by the number of male students at a given education level; a GPI of 1.00 indicates perfect equality, while 0.89 means that for every 100 boys who complete upper‑secondary education, only 89 girls do so.
India’s situation contrasts with broader progress in Central and Southern Asia, where girls’ primary completion rose from 42 % in 2000 to 90 % in 2024, lower‑secondary completion from 30 % to 83 % and upper‑secondary completion from 12 % to 57 %. The report notes that regional gains do not automatically translate into equal outcomes within countries.
The report stresses the importance of reducing the direct and indirect costs of schooling. In India, free school lunches have nearly doubled primary enrolment for girls compared with boys, effectively closing the gender gap in disadvantaged rural communities. Girls who receive early and consistent school meal support also show lower dropout rates. The report argues that fees are only one part of the cost of keeping children in school; expenses for books, uniforms, transport, meals, accommodation and the opportunity cost of children’s work also influence whether girls remain in education.
Infrastructure matters as well. The report cites evidence that India’s national latrine construction initiative increased enrolment among pubescent girls, particularly where sex‑specific toilets were provided. A randomised trial in 121 villages in Karnataka found that local clubs aimed at building girls’ life skills and social networks modestly improved secondary completion, although many girls remained vulnerable to early marriage.
The report also highlights successful interventions in other countries. In Nepal, girls’ lower‑secondary completion rose from 8 % in 1990 to 89 % for both sexes by 2024, attributed to constitutional recognition of education as a right, free and compulsory basic education, scholarships, expanded secondary provision, free textbooks and improved water and sanitation. Cambodia’s primary completion gap narrowed from a 22‑percentage‑point disadvantage for girls in 1981 to an 11‑percentage‑point advantage by 2024. Bangladesh’s girls’ stipend programme has been linked to higher attainment and delayed marriage, although early marriage continues to disrupt girls’ education.
The report cautions against interpreting gender parity solely through enrolment figures. Globally, women now outnumber men in tertiary education, with 88 young men for every 100 young women enrolled in 2024, and 82 men graduating for every 100 women. In Central and Southern Asia, tertiary enrolment reached gender parity by 2024. The report argues that "gender parity does not mean gender equity and inclusion," as curriculum, pedagogy, teacher attitudes, violence and other factors are not captured by parity indicators.
Education systems need coordinated measures that address affordability, school meals, proximity, sanitation, safety, counselling and second‑chance pathways, rather than isolated interventions. "There are relatively few robust policy frameworks that tackle all those factors in a coherent and coordinated manner and are implemented with fidelity," the report says.