Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said that the National Education Policy (NEP) needs to be strengthened to ensure that girls unlock their optimum potential and women reap the complete benefits. “Investing in girls and young women goes a long way in building girl capital,” the Union minister said. “While India has made substantial progress in girls’ education, the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 needs to be strengthened to further ensure girls reach their full potential and women benefitted across the country,” Dharmendra Pradhan was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The education minister made the comments during an event in which a policy brief titled “Nurturing a Vibrant Girl Capital in India,” was launched with recommendations to ensure a supportive and enabling environment for girls that would help nurture and foster their talents.
Speaking at the event, Pradhan further emphasized on the significance of imparting education in the mother language till Class 8. He also highlighted the initiatives pressed by the central government for the welfare and benefit of girl child.
“While India has made progress in various aspects of gender equality, there is still work to be done to build ‘girl capital’ in the country…we renew our commitment to advancing SDG Goal 5 and building girl capital by investing in the well-being, education, skills, and opportunities for girls to enable them to become empowered and productive members of society,” Ashwajit Singh, Managing Director, IPE Global Limited, was reported as saying at the event.
Notably, the Sustainable Development Goal 5 stresses upon achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. The event also featured a panel discussion where experts from various fields discussed the challenges and opportunities for building girl capital in India.
With rich participation from various streams like government, academia, policy makers, private sector, civil society among others, the event witnessed strong exchanges on building girl capital in India, and pressing on the significance of continued efforts to ensure that women have access to equal opportunities in education, health, and every aspect of life.
