78% parents in rural India want their daughters to be at least graduate, finds survey

NEW DELHI: Seventy-eight per cent parents in rural India aspire to educate their daughters till graduation and beyond, a survey report said. The 'State of elementary education in rural India-2022' report, based on the survey of 6,229 rural households from across 20 states, was released by union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan here on Tuesday evening.

"Analysing the gender distribution of the children, the findings indicate that parents exhibit a similar inclination for both their female and male children to pursue advanced education, including technical degrees, graduation, and postgraduation degrees. Parents of 82% of boys and 78% of girls want to educate their children to graduation and above," it said.

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The survey revealed, out of the total dropped-out children, around one-fourth of male children discontinued their education during primary schooling. "Comparatively, the dropout rate at that stage was higher for female children, reaching 35%. A higher proportion of both boys and girls dropped out of school after completing the primary school education (75% for boys and 65% for girls).

"Non-availability of schools with higher sections within the village or nearby villages might have been a reason why these children were dropped out after the completion of the primary sections," it added. The study which focused on six-to-16-year-old children in rural communities was conducted by the Development Intelligence Unit (DIU), an initiative of Transforming Rural India Foundation (TRIF) and Sambodhi Pvt, with a vision to put forth data along with the right analytics and insights to stimulate action among stakeholders of rural India's development.

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The survey found that a majority of children (62.5 per cent) are under the supervision of their mothers when it comes to their studies, while 49 per cent are supervised by their fathers. "This highlights the important role parents play in guiding and supporting their children's academic pursuits at home. Additionally, over 38 per cent of parents opt for private tutors to further enhance their children's education.