Jaipur, May 3 -- Gambhira government senior secondary school (which is also the only school in the village) where Vinita and Sarita studied from has currently 157 girls and 86 boys. On the other hand, the private school, Rising Star English School, located in Bhadoti, two kilometres from the village, from where their brothers have finished their education has 249 boys and 151 girls. "There are about 15 to 20 such private schools in our vicinity where most of the children from Gambhira and five to six nearby villages take admission. The fees is pretty high which goes around Rs.40- Rs.50,000 yearly. But a good education is worth it. Government school cannot teach my sons manners or science," says Pappulal Meena, a local farmer, who took some loans to afford his sons- Anuj (8) and Jemal (9)'s education. "Look at the children in the cities. Why are they so smart ? Because, they studied in the private English medium schools. Even the government schools in the cities are way better than the ones in the villages. If you want your sons to do well in their life, have to ensure they get a similar quality of education," Pappulal says. For the two little boys, their cousin, Uday (21), is an idol who has not only finished his education from another local private school, Shreeram Vidyapeeth, with science stream, but later also left for Jaipur to pursue a Bachelors degree in Nursing. However, Pappulal plans to send his elder daughter Puja (17) to a government college in Sawai Madhopur after her upcoming board exams and then get her married by the time she turns 20. "If she wants to do any job, that's good. But there is norm in the village that the girls should be married off by their twenties," he says. Puja has also studied in the same private school where Uday studied till Class IV but later was admitted to the government school as her father was not able to afford private school education for all his children. So, Papulal chose his sons to continue in private schools while Puja was transferred to the government one. She did not answer any question about her ambition about her future, whether she likes to study, or is willing to marry after graduation. Only, a shy smile was visible on her face. The latest data from the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024, released earlier this year, revealed that while a significant number of parents preferred private schools for their sons, they sent their daughters to government schools. The survey, which covered 26 states and 2 union territories of India comprising 605 rural districts with 17,997 villages, and 649,491 school-going children, recorded that the girls, at every level (primary, secondary, and senior secondary), dominated the enrolment in government schools more than boys while the fact is vice versa in private schools. From ages 7-14, parents enrolled at least 69.6% girls to government schools compared to at least 63.4% for boys, while at least 33.8% boys were enrolled private schools, compared to at least 27.4% girls across India, demonstrating a clear preference among parents. A higher share of girls (62.4%) was also enrolled in government schools in the age group of 15-16 compared to boys (57.9%). "Government school here is not bad though. We all studied there since our childhood. I also firmly believe that she should complete her graduation. But neither I could afford all my children's education in the private school nor she wasn't interested in Science that it was a compulsion," Pappulal says. But interest in Sciences for the girls students also does not mean that they would be sent to the private schools or be allowed to make a career before getting married. "Mathematics is my favourite subject. But, my school doesn't have sciences facility. My parents won't send me to private school. They said, it's not safe for me to travel so far daily," Seema (14) says and smiles, who is studying in Class VIII in Government Senior Secondary School in Jolanda, another village under Malarna Doongar. A total 130 girls study in this school against only 87 boys....