The story so far: Despite a recent drop in the World Economic Forum’s gender gap rankings, partly due to the education category, India has made steady progress in recent years in terms of enrolling more girls in school, with government data showing that girls now make up 48% of the school population. In higher education, in fact, the gross enrolment ratio for women is slightly higher than that of men. However, data collected as part of the National Sample Survey earlier this summer show a more insidious gender gap that remains in education — the differing amounts of money that families spend on their sons as opposed to their daughters for their education.
What are the differences in expenditure?
The recent report on the Comprehensive Modular Survey on education, which collected nationwide data between April and June as part of the 80th round of the NSS, shows that the per-student expenditure on girls is lower than on boys during all stages of school education, from pre-primary to higher secondary, as well as across the rural-urban divide. The survey covered 52,085 households in 2,384 villages and 1,982 urban blocks across the country, with education-related information collected for 57,742 students currently enrolled in school.
In rural India, families spent ₹1,373 or 18% more on boys than girls in terms of course fees, textbooks and stationery, uniforms, and transportation to school. In urban India, the per-student expenditure on girls was ₹2,791 less than on boys. In urban India, by the time students are in higher secondary school, there is almost 30% more being spent on education for boys than girls. When course fees alone are considered, the gap widens, with families paying on average 21.5% more on fees for boys than for girls across the country.
This prioritising of boys’ education is also clear in the type of schools that Indian families choose for their children. About 58.4% of girls are enrolled in government schools, which are usually free of cost in terms of course fees, with only 29.5% of them having access to more expensive private school education. However, 34% of boys are enrolled in private unaided schools. The gap goes beyond the school classroom, and extends to private tuitions that many families consider essential for a quality education. Tuition classes now supplement school teaching at all stages of education, and overall, 26% of girls and 27.8% of boys are enrolled in such classes. When it comes to expenditure, however, the gap widens, especially in higher classes. By the higher secondary level, families are spending on average 22% more in terms of tuition fees on their boys in comparison to girls.
How does this vary by State?
States differ widely in terms of the gender gap in education. When it comes to enrolment of girls and boys in government schools versus private schools, for instance, the biggest gaps can be seen in States/UTs such as Delhi, where almost 54% of boys go to government schools, compared to more than 65% of girls. On the other hand, almost 38.8% of boys go to more expensive private schools, compared to 26.6% of girls. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Punjab also have gender gaps of more than 10 percentage points. In Gujarat, the gender gap is striking in urban areas, but narrower in rural areas.
In States such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, boys and girls go to government and private schools in almost equal ratios, while several northeastern States have flipped the script, sending more girls to private schools. Expenditures are more nuanced, especially in the higher classes. In higher secondary education, for instance, families in Telangana, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal spend vastly more on boys than girls, though they spent more on girls at the secondary level. In Tamil Nadu, for instance, the average education expenditure on girls at the secondary level is ₹23,796 compared to ₹22,593 on boys. In higher secondary, however, the expenditure on boys in the State has shot up to ₹35,973, compared to just ₹19,412 for girls.Part of this can be attributed to girls dropping out at that stage, though subsidies for girl students could also account for some of the difference. States like Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala also spend more on higher secondary girls, especially in urban India, where data shows that transport costs become a major factor, with parents intent on safety of the girl.
Expenditure on private coaching also varied by State, especially at the higher secondary level. In Himachal Pradesh, for instance, there was a stark gap between the ₹9,813 spent per boy student in higher secondary school enrolled for private tuition in comparison to the ₹1,550 spent per girl. Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu were among other States which showed significant gender gaps in this regard.
Published – September 07, 2025 03:20 am IST
