British rule in India played an important role in women progress. The credit for bringing the Indian women out of their narrow precincts goes particularly to the foreign missionaries who rendered valuable service by setting up educational institutions for women. During the first half of the 19th century i.e. before the revolution of 1857, facilities for the education of as many as 11,193 girls existed in the country. After the revolution of 1857 the pace of women’s education expansion slowed down having realized the need of women’s education in the year 1882, the Govt. of India started of giving grants to women’s educational institutions on the basis of the recommendations of education commission.

Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders with some prominent women organizations continued to agitate for more education and freedom of women with their efforts at the time of independence in undivided India. After independence there was favorable atmosphere for the expansion of women’s education. The Indian women at present are far behind when compared to USA, Russia and Germany. Much of the responsibility for this backwardness rests on society. The only way to remove this social evil is to encourage women’s education, so that they gain their proper place in society. Education is needed for the progress of Indian women, so that they are able to achieve good position in society. The education commissions have submitted in their report for women’s education at all stages for the national development. The old values of society will have to be changed. Present system of education for women requires change to be more useful. More success has been achieved in the field of higher secondary education, with the opening of new schools. The number of girl’s students has gone up.

The growth of women education on different higher levels depends on more and more development of education at the primary stage. It is national need to place boys and girls at par in the educational sphere, main hurdle in women’s education is the conservative outlook due to which the percentage of girls goes down, it has been observed that now women are taking more interest in vocational subjects, this may be because of the desire to have economic independence trend for vocational education, it indicates a social awakening and this opportunity should be utilized for providing facilities for more education.

In the present progressive age it is desirable that men and women hold the same status in society. Indian women, who got the opportunity to study and develop, are not lagging behind. Indian women simply need an opportunity to develop themselves and broaden their outlook. Parents should have no objection to coeducation at the primary stage, more and more girl schools should be opened in the country particularly in rural areas. There may be certain difficulties in co-education at the secondary stage, because many parents do not consider it proper that adolescent boys and girls should study together. Many parents are indifferent towards the education of their adolescent girls. There is also a section of people who in spite of their desire to educate their girls do not think it proper to send them to schools because of their social norms. The ideas of such persons should be changed. Educational facilities need expansion in the sphere of higher and vocational education.