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In light of the Right to Education Act 2009, huge educational developments presented hope for girls across India as now, education holds a fundamental right for all children aged 6 to 14. This begs the question, why are 1.6 million girls still out of education? The Right to Education Act excludes below 6 years and 15-18 years, proving itself detrimental as data suggests 39.4% of girls aged between 15-18 years are out of school.¹ Exploring barriers that arise from this inadequate policy requires reflection upon the intertwining failures of provisional safety, school system functionality, religious inequalities, and patriarchal beliefs. 

Why explore female educational rights? Overcoming barriers and increasing female secondary education will improve child and infant mortality rates, economic productivity, family income alongside delayed marriage and fertility,² positively shaping the social and economic landscape of India. 

An important starting point is the patriarchal roots within India that favours male education, with a female focus on marriage. Regressive attitudes result in the burden of unpaid care falling on girls,¹ with additional costs and distance to schools presenting a stronger negative correlation to female education than boys.³ In rural areas, parental attitudes dictate girls should have some education, but higher education is unnecessary as marriage is the ultimate goal.³ Figure 1 displays the correlation of school completion rates and under-age marriage. Higher levels of under-age marriage are more likely in areas of lower educational attainment, presenting an urban, rural divide across India that arises from less accessibility to schools in rural areas, hastening marriage.⁴

Overcoming patriarchal attitudes is undeniably the hardest challenge. These attitudes are deeply entrenched throughout generational behaviours, shaping stark educational inequalities for girls. Thus, small steps are needed to gradually overcome these beliefs. Developing life skills and community programme engagement with boys and men to challenge attitudes can help reduce gender-based violence,¹ working towards female equality in secondary schools. 

Whilst challenging patriarchal attitudes can slowly change the educational landscape for girls, much needed attention has to be drawn to safety and infrastructural barriers. These are simplistic areas where solutions can provide drastic positive change for female education. 

Arguably the most detrimental barrier to female secondary education is their lack of safety. Most commonly, whilst primary school distances remain short, this is not the case regarding secondary schools, with greater distances stirring fears of female security. Travelling unaccompanied is undesirable, especially when girls reach puberty.³ Issues of harassment, violence, bullying, and abduction are heightened risks for long commutes, deterring parents’ willingness to send girls to school.¹

This is amplified by infrastructural failures. Only 54% of schools hold functional WASH facilities (toilets, drinking water and hand washing amenities). Moreover, 16.6% of schools across India lack female teachers whilst 35% lack a boundary wall.¹ The unavailability of sanitation facilities, particularly during menstruation, hugely undermines education attainment for female adolescents.⁵ This issue is highlighted in northern Karnataka. When asked to identify the toilet, the teacher indicated the field behind the outside fence.⁶ Clearly evident are the squalid conditions girls face should they choose to pursue secondary education. 

A lack of sensitised, qualified teachers presents another barrier, particularly for marginalised groups. Teachers are not trained to meet needs of LGBTQ children,¹ whilst scolding, insulting, and physical punishment are present for girls belonging to the scheduled caste or scheduled tribe class (SC/ST).⁶ Unsurprisingly, enrolment here is stark with only 18.6% SC girls and 8.6% ST girls in secondary education.¹ Such groups experience common stigmatisation, and social exclusion, resulting in poorer academic results and parental fears of female harassment when commuting.⁶

Whilst such issues are unimaginable for female students undertaking secondary education with a legal right, these are barriers with accessible solutions. Providing safe transport routes and challenging discriminatory attitudes can work towards implementing violence free schools. Safe WASH infrastructure must be readily available, improving the hygienic quality of schools.¹ Ensuring teaching positions are adequately filled with gender representative, professionally qualified adults,¹ will improve the quality of education in a better environment for children to learn. 

This research presents an entangled set of barriers that hinder female secondary education. When exploring these barriers critically, identifying reasonable targets and solutions is vital. Whilst the most desirable advancement is extension of the Right to Education Act beyond current ages, focus on systematic changes can dramatically improve the educational landscape for girls. Patriarchal and marginalisation challenges are undeniable the hardest to shift. As this will be a slow development, focus is needed on accessible solutions. Improving system functionality of schools can dramatically improve female access to secondary education. Therefore, increasing educational funding can overcome infrastructural and safety barriers, improving the quality of school environments. This would enable girls to attend school safely, achieve higher qualifications, improving India’s economic and social landscape. 

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