Census 2011 Findings on Access to Education and Key Factors

Census 2011 Findings on Access to Education and Key Factors

Question: Recent census findings indicate that 25% of the Indian population has never attended school or any educational institution. Examine the phenomenon of low enrolment rates and factors influencing equal access to education.

- Around 400 million people or close to 25% of the population in 2011 has not attended either school or an educational institution

- As per fresh data, although enrolment in schools is now over 80%, enrolment in higher education is low

- Enrolment in educational institutions between the years 2001 and 2011 show that between 7 and 14 years of age, 80% of the children are attending school, as per the numbers

- There is wide inter state variation

- In Kerala, the percentage of 7 to 14 year olds in school rose from 93% to over 97%

- There are still 25.6 million children between ages of 6 and 14 who were not in school

- Though girls still lag behind boys in educational enrolment, the gap has lessened over the past 10 years

- School and college enrolment was more for girls rather than boys

- Less than 2 of the 3 young Indians aged 15 to 19 attend any educational institution

- Proportion of girls is lower in rural areas and SC and ST communities

- In the year 2001, around 44% of those between the aged of 15 to 19 were in school or college while this rose to 60% in 2011

- Proportion of 15-19 year olds enrolled in school or college was the lowest in states of Odisha and Gujarat

- It was highest in HP and Kerala

- Still low proportion of students were enrolling in graduate and post graduate courses

- Fewer than 25% applied between the ages of 20 to 24 in educational institutions in 2011

- Even in the state with the highest enrolment rate, proportion was just over 30%

- It was considerably lower for girls nationally at less than 20%

- Enrolment in vocational education was equally low

- Between 15 to 24, proportion of those enrolled in vocational institutes was just under 5%

- The figure is just a 3% increase from 2% in 2001

Factors influencing Access to Education

- Rural urban divide

- Less enrolment among SC, ST, minorities

- Girls less likely to be educated than boys indicating a gender divide

- SES is also a crucial issue:; low SES is associated with lack of access to education

- Poverty is negatively correlated with education

Facts and Stats

- The lowest percentage of educational enrolment was 43.3%(Odisha) and 51.1%(Gujarat)

- The highest percentage of educational enrolment was 78.51%(HP) and 82.87%(Kerala)