Dependency on someone to go to school acts as biggest disabler for girls: Study

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Dependency on someone to go to school acts as the biggest disabler for girls and 90 per cent of girl children are impacted by it in four states of Haryana, Bihar, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, a study has found.

On International Women's Day, the Child Rights and You (CRY) released a study that focuses on the enablers and disablers that significantly impact access and continuation of girls' education.

It also explores the role of incentive schemes for boosting girl child education in India.

The study found that dependency on someone to go to school is the biggest disabler for girls in attending educational institutions and 90 per cent of girls are impacted by it.

"Frequent absenteeism (29 per cent) and discomfort in absence of female teacher (18 per cent) were identified as some of the other disabling factors that are often interlinked with the drop out of girl children," it stated.

Delving deep into the reasons behind frequent absenteeism from school, frequent illness (52 per cent) and being engaged in household chores (46 per cent) surfaced as the biggest deterrents across the four states, according to the study.

Also, infrastructural issues like poor roads and unavailability of transport to schools were highlighted as some of the top reasons for girls to miss education.

Girls in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh mentioned about the distance and cost of transportation as some of the main reasons to miss school, the study stated.

In Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, menstruation emerged as another important reason for missing school, which highlights the vital need for improved infrastructure and amenities in school