Click to play videoNew Delhi: Even though she was once part of a literacy programme, 24-year-old Lajjabati Hembram from West Bengal's Midnapore district today still struggles to write her name. The reason: she doesn't remember what she learnt.
The ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) says that 10 per cent children of women like Lajjabati are most likely to drop out of school.
"If you are a child of an illiterate mother, then you are twice as likely not to be able to read alphabets or numbers in the first grade, which means you will start lagging behind," says Pratham's Founder, Dr Madhav Chavan.
But ironically, while the mother is required to be literate so that her children follow, the bias against the girl child stands in her way to get educated.
Across India, 20 per cent of boys from villages are being sent to private schools. But only 16 per cent of girls get to sit in private school classrooms with them. And in states like Punjab and Haryana, the disparity is even more frightening.
"The gender gap, though it is closing, is still a cause of concern. And the important thing for all of us working in this sector is to re-focus on these issues in our programming," says Eimar Barr, the Deputy Director of Operations, UNICEF.
While more women like are needed to attend class and encourage their children to become educated, India's future lies in the rural classrooms.
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