2005-06 National Family Health Survey

(NFHS-3)

Education

NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06

 Why focus on education?
Education is one of the key enablers of
demographic change, family welfare, and better
health and nutrition
Achievement of universal primary education a
key goal of Indian planning since Independence

Elimination of gender disparity in primary

education is one of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDG4)

The spread of higher education is going to be

key to sustaining the growth of the Indian
economy
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
 Questions Explored
Current School Attendance
 Are children attending school?
 Are children attending school at an age-appropriate level?

Literacy: Are we anywhere near

universal literacy?
Educational attainment: What is the
level and trend in higher education?
A curriculum note: Is there approval for
the teaching of family life education in
school?

NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06

 ARE CHILDREN ATTENDING
SCHOOL?

Reference school year: 2005-06

NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06

What percentage of children age 6-17
years attended school in 2005-06?
By residence…….. And by age (yrs)
77 88 Urban
81 82 Rural
73

71 51

69 37

Total Urban Rural 6-10 11-14 15-17

NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06

What percentage of boys and girls
attended school in 2005-06?

85 81 80
75 70
66
49
34

6-17 years 6-10 years 11-14 years 15-17 years

Boys Girls

NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06

 Gender Differentials in School
Attendance by Residence
Urban Rural
88 88 84
83 81 79 79
66
52 51
47

28

6-10 years 11-14 Years 15-17 years 6-10 years 11-14 years 15-17 years

Male Female Male Female

In urban areas gender disparity in school enrollment is

negligible but in rural India, gender disparity in school
enrollment persists and increases sharply with age
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
 School Attendance Rates by Sex and
State in Urban Areas
100
90 Male Female

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
KE
MZ
HP
MN
GO
TN
MG
CH
JK
MH
TR
RJ
UT
AS
KA
DL
SK
HR
NG
IN D
JH
AP
GJ
PJ
OR
MP
WB
AR
UP
BH
• 5 states with less than 75% of boys attending school in urban
areas are: Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
• The differential in school attendance is highest at 9 percentage
points in Haryana
• In several states, girls are more likely to be in school than boys
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
Gender differentials in school attendance are much
higher in rural than in urban area
100 91 89 89 88
86
90 81 79 79 78 78 78 77 77 77 77 77
76 76 75 75 74 74 73 72
80 70 69 69 68
70 64
57
60
50
40
30
20 Male Female
10
0
MN

MH
TN

JH

BH
NG
HR

CH
HP

UT

UT

MG
MP
MZ
JK

TR
KE

AS

KA

SK

AR
AP
GO

DL

OR
PJ

RJ

GJ
India

WB
• 11 states where 75% or fewer boys are in school, compared
with 22 states where 75% or less girls are in school
• In Kerala, Delhi, Sikkim, Nagaland and Meghalaya more girls
than boys are in school
• Gender differentials are 15-24 points in Rajasthan, Bihar, and
Jharkhand; and 10 -14 points in Andhra Pradesh, Uttaranchal,
Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Orissa, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
 Age-Appropriate School Attendance
Measured by estimating the net attendance rates
(NAR) and gross attendance rates (GAR) for
primary and secondary school-age population
For primary school
NAR: Children age 6-10 years in classes1-5 as a
proportion of all children age 6-10 years
GAR: All children in classes 1-5 as a proportion of
all children age 6-10 years
For secondary school
NAR: Children age 11-17 years in classes 6-12
divided by all children age 11-17 years
GAR: All children in classes 6-12 divided by all
children age 11-17 years
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
NAR: Persistent gender inequality in rural
areas and high drop out by the secondary
level for boys and for girls
Percent
PRIMARY NAR Male
Female
Total 73
71

Urban 74
74

Rural 73
69

SECONDARY NAR
Total 57
46

Urban 61
60

Rural 55
40

NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06

Literacy: How close are we to
achieving universal literacy?
Every woman and man age 15-49 who had not
completed class 6 years was asked to read a
sentence from a preprinted card.
Sentences were available in all major languages
of each state
In NFHS-3, persons are considered literate if
 They have completed at least class six, or

 They can read a whole or part of a sentence

NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06

Literacy among women has doubled in 30
years; however, even among the youngest
one-fourth of women and one-tenth of men
are illiterate
89 Women Men
84 81
78 76
74
70 69 68
64
55 55
48
43 40 38

15-49 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49

Percent who are literate
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
 The poorest women and scheduled-tribe
women and men are least likely to be
literate
Percent literate
Women Men
88 90
86
79 79
75 72 72 72
71
60
52 55
50
46 44
33

19

Urban Rural SC ST OBC Other Lowest Middle Highest

Residence Caste/tribe Wealth index
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
 Male literacy rates are 70+% in all states except
Jharkhand. In 6 states including the most populous
states, less than half of women 15-49 years of age are
literate
100 94 93
90 84
80
80 77 75
73 72
70 70 69 69 69
70 65 64 63
60 60 59
60 55 54 53
52 50
50 45 45 44
40 37 37 36

30
20
10
0

INDIA
UT
TR

HR
NG

TN

RJ
UP
MZ

MN
HP

MH

AR
OR

CH

BH
GO

MG

JH
PJ

GJ
DL

WB
KE

SK

KA

MP
AS

JK

AP
Women Men
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
 Educational Attainment of the
Population Age 6 and Over
Males 49
Females
42
38

29
27
24 24 25
22
17 17
13 13 14
8 8 8
3

None 12 or more 10 or more None 12 or more 10 or more

years years years years
complete complete complete complete

Total Urban Rural Total Urban Rural

NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
Is India prepared to take on the challenge to
sustain an economic growth rate of 8% or
more per annum?
45
43
40 39 39
35
33
30 32 30 31
29 29
25
20 20
18
15 14
10 11 10
8 7 7
5 6 6 4
3 2
0
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65+

Male Female
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
 A Note for School Curricula:

Is there approval for the teaching

of family life education in school?

NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06

Measuring the Acceptance of the Teaching of
Family-Life Topics in School
NFHS-3 asked all women and men age 15-49 whether they think
that the following topics should be taught to children in school:

 Moral values
 Changes in the body at puberty (including menstruation)
 Sex and sexual behaviour
 Contraception
 HIV/AIDS
 Condom use to avoid sexually transmitted diseases

Persons who said that the topic should be taught in school were
asked at what age the topic should be first introduced

All questions were asked separately with reference to girls and

boys
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
 Percentage who agree that family-life related
topics should be taught to children in school:

% of women who % of men who

agree to teach: agree to teach:
Topic Girls Boys Girls Boys
Pubertal changes
in boys’ bodies 54 69 68 82
Pubertal changes
in girls’ bodies 76 77 41 64
Sex and sexual
behaviour 46 62 43 62
Contraception 49 65 42 64
HIV/AIDS 63 81 63 82
Condom use to
prevent STDs 44 68 43 70
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06
 Conclusions
Universal primary school attendance is attainable in the
short run, but only in urban areas
In rural areas, one in five children age 6-10 is not
attending school with a persistent gender gap
Drop-out rates between primary and secondary school are
very high for both girls and boys, though the gender gap
also widens considerably
With no more than one in five adults with 10+ years of
education, education will be a major bottleneck for
sustained economic growth in India
There is widespread support among both women and
men for teaching most family life education topics in
school
NFHS- 3, India, 2005-06