Question 3: Why do we observe regional differences in educational attainment in India?
Answer:
India is a land of diverse culture, religions and communities. Every region has its own customs and tradition. Also, as we go from one state to another, we find many differences in terms of language, habit, culture, need, climate, etc. Due to these differences, there exist regional differences in the educational attainment in our country. There exists a difference in the pattern of education across India. Some regions lack educational facilities whereas some give undue importance to education. For example, states like Bihar, Rajasthan, U.P and Arunachal Pradesh are educationally backward whereas, states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttranchal have higher literacy rates. Generally, it can be observed that the states that lack employment opportunities and where the standard of living is close to the subsistence level, education is given lesser importance. People in such states are engaged either in agricultural sector or informal sector that has very less to do with education. The opportunity cost of sending children to school in such states is very high than employing them. The neglect of education in these regions is primarily because of the low standard of living and poverty. These people cannot afford to send their children to schools and, in fact, employ them either in the farm lands or in informal sector. Further, it can also be observed that male children across India have lopsided access to education compared to female children. Besides the above factor, there are other factors like custom, climate, etc. that explains the regional differences in educational attainment in India.
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