The Effect of Female Secondary Education Completion on the Age of Marriage

Abstract

This  study  examines  the  critical  relationship between  female  secondary  education completion  and the  age at  first  marriage  in Jharkhand, India, utilizing cross-sectional data from  the  National  Family  Health  Survey (NFHS-5, 2019-21). Despite legal frameworks aimed at curbing child marriage, social norms continue to drive early unions in many parts of India. The research employs a quantitative and correlational  design  to  analyze  a  state-level subsample of women aged 20–24. The findings reveal a stark "education gap"; women with no formal schooling in Jharkhand are three times more likely (56.4%) to marry before the age of 18 compared to those who completed 10 or more years  of  education  (18.2%).  Correlation analysis  demonstrates  a  robust  positive relationship  (r =  0.78)  between  years  of schooling and marriage timing. Furthermore, while secondary education serves as a threshold for  preventing  child  marriage,  the  data indicates  that  Higher  Secondary  education (12+ years) is the primary driver for delaying marriage until the mid-20s, with only 22.8% of highly educated women marrying by age 21. The  study  concludes  that  educational attainment  is  a  definitive  determinant  of marriage age, functioning as a "social vaccine" that  provides  women  with  the  agency  to negotiate life choices. Policy recommendations focus on incentivizing the transition from Grade 
10  to  12  and  improving  rural  educational infrastructure  to  align  with  the  National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the proposed legal marriage age of 21.