"...Attendance rates of girls at primary level were 70.6 per cent against the overall average of 68.5 per cent and 78.7 per cent at upper primary levels against the overall average of 75 per cent," Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor said.
He said this came to light in a study done by independent agencies on assessing attendance levels in elementary schools in 2009.
Tharoor said since the Right to Education Act became operational 96 per cent of population has access to school within one kilometer of their residence.
He said the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) Scheme of residential upper primary schools for girls has been launched where female literacy rates below the national average.
He said the government has launched an innovative scheme under which a fixed deposit of Rs 3,000 is made in the name of girls passing out of Class VIII.
The money and the interest accumulated on it is given to the girl after she clears her Class X exam, he said.
Tharoor said the government was also encouraging states to recruit more teachers ever since the RTE Act became operational.
"The government has been making consistent progress in meeting the goal of Universal Elementary Education through implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)," he said.
Under SSA, several intervention to promote education of girls are undertaken which include opening of schools in the neighbourhood to make access easier for girls, appointment of additional teachers.
The KGBV scheme is only for girls from Class V to Class VIII. For girls beyond Class VIII, there is a scheme under which government provides Rs 3,000 in a fixed deposit and the money is given to her with interest when she passes Class X.
