31% increase in number of girl students since 2014-15: Education minister
In India, there are more than 300 million students– 260 million in grades from 0-12th and 40 million in higher education institutions and there is only a microscopic minority that goes out to study, Pradhan said during the question hour
Union minister of education Dharmendra Pradhan told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that there has been a 31% growth in enrolment among girls students in schools between 2014-15 due to several initiatives taken by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.
In India, there are more than 300 million students– 260 million in grades 0-12th and 40 million in higher education institutions, and there is only a microscopic minority that goes out to study, Pradhan said replying to supplementary queries of MPs during the question hour.
He said that under the Modi-led government, the number of students in higher studies has increased to 20-25%.
The figure for girls belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) stood at 50%. The enrolment growth rate for SC and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students was 44% and 65%, respectively, Pradhan said,
Replying to supplementary queries of MPs during the question hour.
He also said that there has been a growth of students from Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and a further 45% increase of female students from the Muslim minority in schools.
This shows that because of the initiatives taken by the government, children have started studying more, Pradhan said, adding that the New Education Policy will be great to take India to new heights in the next three years.
The education minister said that India’s soul is alive through its languages and that is why the government has decided to take measures to increase the teaching of Indian languages.
As per the updated curriculum framework, it is now obligatory for all students in classes 11 and 12 to study a minimum of two languages, with one of them being an Indian language.
According to Pradhan, The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has taken out a circular that materials for teaching and learning 20 Indian civil languages be made available in schools.
