Transforming girls’ education through social awareness and government interventions: a pathway to equality

Abstract This paper examines improvements in girls’ participation and performance in education in Bihar, India, focusing on the impacts of three government programs, namely, the Cycle Program, Cash Incentives and Syllabus Upgrades. We analyzed 20 years of standardized 10th-grade examination results alongside survey and interview data from students, teachers and parents. Our findings show that the Cycle Program and Cash Incentives significantly increased girls’ attendance and their likelihood of passing with a minimum acceptable passing score (third division) while having limited effects on boys. However, these interventions had a minimal impact on distinctive score (first division) for both genders. We also find that while girls still lag behind boys in academic performance, they are rapidly closing the gap due to these government interventions, greater access to resources and rising social awareness. For instance, gender disparities in participation and third-division results, particularly in rural districts, are shrinking. The survey of 507 participants and interviews indicate that societal changes, resource availability and increased parental support are playing critical roles in this shift. However, additional government initiatives—such as better teachers, curricula and incentives—are needed to further improve girls’ academic performance. These findings offer valuable insights for enhancing female school enrollment and education quality in Bihar and can serve as a model for other regions and countries facing similar educational challenges, including Chad, Niger, Liberia and Mali.