Literacy and level of education are basic
indicators of the level of development achieved by a society. Spread of
literacy is generally associated with important traits of modern civilization
such as modernization, urbanization, industrialization, communication and
commerce. Literacy forms an important input in overall development of
individuals enabling them to comprehend their social, political and cultural
environment better and respond to it appropriately. Higher levels of education
and literacy lead to a greater awareness and also contributes in improvement of
economic and social conditions. It acts as a catalyst for social upliftment
enhancing the returns on investment made in almost every aspect of development
effort, be it population control, health, hygiene, environmental degradation
control, employment of weaker sections of the society.
According to the Census 2001, as many as 560,687,797 persons
in the country are literate. Of these 336,533,716 are males and 224, 154,081
are females. While the overall literacy rate works out to be 64.8 %, the male
literacy rate is 75.3% and that for females is 53.7%, showing a gap of 21.6
percentage points between the sexes at the national level. The gap is more in
the rural areas. In the urban areas, higher literacy rate has been recorded
both for males and females and the difference among the sexes is lower (13
percentage points ). Kerala, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Goa and Chandigarh occupy
the top five positions in literacy while Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Uttar
Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar, are at
bottom.
The literacy rates for rural population are
the highest in Kerala, followed by Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Goa, and Delhi.
Fourteen (14) States / Uts have recorded less than 60 percent rural Literacy
rate.
TABLE 8: NUMBER OF VILLAGES/TOWNS BY RANGE OF LITERACY RATE & SEX, INDIA, 2001.
| Range of Literacy (Percent)
|
Persons
|
Males
|
Females
|
| No.of Villages |
No. of UAs/Towns |
No. of Villages |
No. of UAs/Towns |
No. of Villages |
No. of UAs/Towns |
| Nil |
3,077
|
0
|
3,546
|
0
|
9,899
|
0
|
| Less than 10 |
8,664
|
0
|
4,516
|
0
|
28,412
|
0
|
| 10-25 |
31,494
|
0
|
14,410
|
0
|
90,198
|
17
|
| 25-50 |
162,727
|
122
|
72,057
|
33
|
244,760
|
475
|
| 50-75 |
294,596
|
1,740
|
237,381
|
624
|
186,245
|
2,638
|
| 75 or above |
93,055
|
2,516
|
261,630
|
3,721
|
33,029
|
1,248
|
| Total* |
593,613
|
4,378
|
593,540
|
4,378
|
592,543
|
4,378
|
|
Source : Primary Census Abstract,
Census of India 2001 Note: *Excludes villages/UA/Towns with no
Male/Female population.
|
INDIA
LITERACY 2001
(DISTRICTS)
Jammu & Kashmir, Dadra & Nagar Haveli Arunachal
Pradesh, Jharkhand & Bihar with less than 50 percent literacy rate are at
the bottom of the table.
In urban population, the literacy rate is
79.9 % at the national level. Many States/Uts have achieved literacy rate
higher than the national average. These are Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Goa,
and Delhi, which have achieved literacy rate in the range of 88 % to 96 %.
Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh rank in
the last five states.
The number of villages or UAs/Towns has been
grouped in different ranges of literacy rate in Table 8.This helps to evolve
specific intervention strategies. Among the UAs/Towns, 2,516 out of 4,378
UAs/Towns fall in the literacy range 75.0 percent or above. More than 294
thousands villages come under the literacy range of 50-75 %. There are still as
many as 3,077 villages in the country, which do not have a single literate. Out
of them, 341 villages have population of at least 100 persons. The number of
villages not having a single female literate in 9,899 out of which 2,351
villages have population of at least 100 persons.
Out of 561 million literates in the country, 145 million
literates are educated only up to ‘Below Primary’ level and another
147 million up to ‘Primary’ level. Number of literates educated up
to these two levels account for 52 % of the total literates in the country. 79
million (or 14.1%) of literates have attained Matric/Secondary level. There are
37 million persons in the country who are ‘Graduates & above’
which also include 12 million females. The category wise break up is given in
the table below :
TABLE 9: NUMBER AND PERCENT LITERATES BY LEVEL OF
EDUCATION: INDIA 2001#
| Level
of education
|
Absolute
Numbers (000')
|
Percent to
Literate
|
| Persons
|
Males
|
Females
|
Persons
|
Males
|
Females
|
| Literate |
560,688
|
336,534
|
224,154
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
| Literate without educational level $ |
20,023
|
11,361
|
8,662
|
3.6
|
3.4
|
3.9
|
| Below Primary |
144,831
|
81,148
|
63,683
|
25.8
|
24.1
|
28.4
|
| Primary |
146,740
|
83,525
|
63,215
|
26.2
|
24.8
|
28.2
|
| Middle |
90,227
|
55,940
|
34,286
|
16.1
|
16.6
|
15.3
|
| Matriculation/Secondary |
79,230
|
51,202
|
28,028
|
14.1
|
15.2
|
12.5
|
| High secondary/ Intermediate/PreUnivercity/ Senior Secondary |
37,816
|
24,596
|
13,220
|
6.7
|
7.3
|
5.9
|
| Non technical diploma or certificate not equel to
degree |
386
|
259
|
128
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
| Technical diploma or certificate not equel to degree |
3,667
|
2,901
|
766
|
0.7
|
0.9
|
0.3
|
| Graduate and above |
37,670
|
25,533
|
12,137
|
6.7
|
7.6
|
5.4
|
#India figures
excludes Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul sub-divisions of Senapati district in
Manipur state as census state as census results were cancelled due to
administrative and technical reasons.
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