Context: Recently, a nationwide survey conducted by the National Statistics Office titled “Household Social Consumption: Education” highlights the rural-urban gap in education.
Regarding Immunisation

• About 59% of boys and 60% of girls across the country have been fully immunised with all eight prescribed vaccinations – BCG, OPV- 1, 2,3, DPT – 1,2,3 and measles.
• In rural India, about 58% children under five years, and about 62% children in urban India had been fully immunised. (Hence, there is a difference of about 5% between the two.)
• The survey shows majority of the children received vaccination from government hospitals or clinics. – About 95% of children in rural India and 86% of children in urban India had received some vaccination from government hospitals including primary and community health centres or even Anganwadi centres.
• Average medical expenditure for hospitalisation in government hospitals has decreased in the National Sample Survey (NSS) compared to the last round.

What is being done?

• While India has achieved substantial decline in maternal and child mortality rate since 1990, the government’s immunsation drive and campaign to increase awareness and coverage has played a very significant role.
• The Intensified Mission Indradhanush, launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2017, aims to reach each and every child under two years of age and all pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation programme.

Regarding Education

• Just 4% of the Rural Households have access to computers as compared to 23% in urban areas.
• 92.7% of the rural households have a primary school within 1 km as compared to 87.2% in urban areas.
• However, the situation gets skewed as only 38% of the rural household have access to secondary school as compared to 70% in the urban areas on similar parameters.
• While accessibility to a neighbourhood school at primary level is not an issue in rural areas, the gross attendance ratio is also satisfactory with nearly 100% of boys and girls in rural as well as urban areas attending classes.
• There is also a big gap in expenditure in education, especially at school level.