The document discusses the importance of gender equality in education. It notes that the Millennium Development Goals established in 2000 aimed to promote development through time-bound goals, including achieving gender equality in education. Educating girls and women is identified as one of the most cost-effective ways to accelerate development and reduce poverty. When women are more educated, they are more economically productive and their families experience improved health and well-being. Greater investment in girls' education leads to higher economic growth and more effective poverty reduction.

1. Gender Education in New Millennium
What are the MillenniumDevelopmentGoals? (MDGs)
September 2000: World Leader came together at United Nations Headquarters
in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration and
committed their nations to a new global partnership to promote development
through a series of time-bounded goals with a deadline of 2015.
In total, 8 goals were established, which have become known as the
Millennium Development Goals. (MDGs)
Empirical Evidence
Education should be a profitable investmentfor the individual.
Moreover, the social benefits associated with schooling, particularly women’s
schooling, suggestthat primary schooling investment is a priority
Why Gender Equality???
Gender (Women schooling) education is not justa women’s issue, it is a
development issue.
Women’s economic empowermentis essential for economic development,
growth, and poverty reduction not only becauseof the income it generates,
but also becauseit helps to break the vicious cycle of poverty.
NeedtoEducating Girls/Women
Educating girls and women is critical to Economic Development.
Research conducted in a variety of countries and regions has established that
educating girls is one of the mostcost-effective ways of accelerating
development.

2. Female education creates powerfulpoverty-reducing tooland yields enormous
intergenerational gains.
Itis positively correlated with increased economic productivity, morerobust
labor markets, higher earnings, and improved societal health and well-being.
Good Source of Human Capital
For developing countries in particular, women represent a good sourceof
human capital, and countries that have adopted aggressivepolicies to promote
gender equality in education reap higher social and economic benefits.
Greater investment in girls’ education is vital for increasing female
participation and productivity
in the labor market, especially in non-agriculturalwage employment.
Greater productivity means higher economic growth and moreeffective
reduction of poverty
Good Rate of Return
Whether self-employed or earning wages, working women help their
households to escapepoverty.
When women have more schooling, the returns flow not only to themselves,
but to the next generation as well
Good Development Rate
Indeed, studies have shown thatgiving women moreaccess to education,
markets (labor, land, credit), and new technology, give out greater control over
household resources, and greater well-being for the household
When women have greater controlover resources in the family, they are more
likely to allocate moreresources to food, children’s health care, and education.
Simply put, limiting women’s economic options is a missed opportunity; it
wastes resources and it slows progress on poverty reduction which is a major
issuein the Asian region.
Impact of an educatedmother
Educated women are morelikely to send their daughters to school.
Countries with higher levels of female secondary-schoolenrollmenthave lower
infant mortality rates, better family planning, lower rates of illness, and better
child nutrition.
More education reduces the rate of violence against women, enables them to
leave abusive relationships, and empowers them to reject adversecultural
practices, such as female karo kari, vani, swara etc
Non-commercial andExternal Benefitsof Education
Benefit type Findings
Child education Parental schooling affects child’s schooling level and
achievement.
Child health Child’s health is positively related to parental education.

3. Women’s health Good education increases quality of life .
Spouse’s health spouse’s health and environmentdirectly benefits by
an educated wife.
Job search efficiency An educated woman is highly competent.
Desired family size Education of a mother improves contraceptive
efficiency.
Social cohesion Quality of Schooling improves personality to affect social
interaction
Recommendations
In the Area of policy decision-making, the following measures are advisable:
• Involving Institutions of civil Society, especially Women-led NGOs, that
supportthe Education of Girls and Women
• Working to Create Stronger links between Education, Gender objectives,
and Health in Global Policies, proposed in the MDGs
• Providing morefunding and trained staff for the Women's offices now
established in the national governmentmachinery of most countries
• Practical Measures
• Providing recurrentGender training to Teachers, Administrators, and
Policy-makers.
• Creating safe schoolenviroments to protect children, girls and young
fromsexual harassmentby adults and peers, both in schooland
university settings.
• Offering increased and sustained training to Parents and Communities
on Gender isssues, including the importanceof Girls' and Women's
Education.
• Providing accelerated programs for girls who have been out of schoolfor
severalyears.
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