In the coming two weeks, three states — Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland — will hold elections and political parties are pulling out all the stops to secure the maximum votes.
Pre-poll campaigning, as is the ritual, involves numerous promises being made. Unfortunately though, as far as fulfilling promises are concerned, all three states have been found wanting.
Take education for example. Regardless of their political standing, all parties aim to persuade voters that if elected, they will make great efforts to enhance the education sector in the state. But what the parties, at least those currently in power, are unlikely to do is show just how bad the current situation is in the states.
According to data compiled by India Data Portal after examining the Gross Enrolment Ratio after Higher-Secondary Level across the eight northeastern states, there still remains ample room for improvement in each of the three states going to polls.
For context, the nationwide data for Gross Enrollment Ratio after Higher-Secondary Level for males in urban India is 34.8, while for females it stands at 33.1. In rural India, the figures are 21.1 for males and 15.9 for females.
According to the NSS 75th round survey on household social consumption of education in India, the Gross Enrolment Ratio in urban Meghalaya stands at 54.8 for females and 45.9 for males. However, this number drastically decreases to just 5.7 for females and 4.7 for males in rural areas, revealing a significant divide between urban and rural Meghalaya.
The situation is similar in Nagaland, where the GER in urban areas is 47.3 for males and 39.7 for females, but drops dramatically to 12.8 for males and 7.8 for females in rural regions.
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Tripura fares the worst among the three in urban areas, with a Gross Enrolment Ratio of 34.2 for females and 24 for males. However, the state performs better in rural areas, where the GER stands at 13 for females and 10.9 for males.
India Data Portal is a one-stop open-access portal for journalists to access, interact with, and visualise information, data and knowledge related to agriculture and financial inclusion, while also aiding other beneficiaries – researchers, students, policymakers, administrators, NGOs, and entrepreneurs. The portal contains a data repository with processed and documented public datasets on related themes.
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