Lok Sabha Question No. 3504 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-15
Subject: Female Literacy
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3504 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.07.2019

## Female Literacy

## †3504. SHRI JASWANT SINGH BHABHOR:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a) the female literacy level in Gujarat at present along with its rank in the whole country at present;

(b) the reasons for lower female literacy rate in Gujarat; and

(c) the steps taken by the Government to increase female literacy level in Gujarat?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a)  &  (b)  The  literacy  data  in  the  country  is  collected  through  decennial  census  operation conducted by  Registrar  General  of  India.  The  last  Census  was  held  in  2011.  A  statement indicating State/UT and rank-wise female literacy rate in the country including Gujarat, in the age group of 7 and above, as per Census 2011 is annexed. The female literacy rate in Gujarat is 69.68 per cent compared to the national average of female literacy rate of 64.63 per cent and  stands  at  21 st place  in  the  country.  Various  factors  viz.  poverty,  gender  and  social inequities, etc. are impeding female literacy in the country.

(c) In order to improve the female literacy rate in the country, the scheme of Saakshar Bharat was implemented in the rural areas of 410 districts in 26 States and one UT, including 13 districts in Gujarat, that had adult female literacy rate of 50 per cent and below as per Census 2001, and including left wing extremism affected districts, irrespective of their literacy rates, with  special  focus  on  women  and  other  disadvantaged  groups,  since  October  2009.  The scheme was extended upto 31.03.2018.

In  addition,  the  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy  has  launched  the Samagra  Shiksha  -  an  Integrated  Scheme  for  School  Education  as  a  Centrally  Sponsored Scheme with  effect  from  the  year  2018-19.  This  programme  subsumes  the  three  erstwhile Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  of  Sarva  Shiksha  Abhiyan  (SSA),  Rashtriya  Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). Samagra Shiksha is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education.

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  &  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3504 FOR 15.07.2019 ASKED BY SHRI JASWANT SINGH BHABHOR REGARDING 'FEMALE LITERACY'.

Rank-wise Female Literacy rate in the country, in the age group of 7 and above, as per the Census 2011

| Sl. No.   | Name of States / UTs       |   Female Literacy Rate |
|-----------|----------------------------|------------------------|
| Sl. No.   | India                      |                  64.63 |
| 1         | Kerala                     |                  92.07 |
| 2         | Mizoram                    |                  89.27 |
| 3         | Lakshadweep                |                  87.95 |
| 4         | Goa                        |                  84.66 |
| 5         | Tripura                    |                  82.73 |
| 6         | A &NIslands                |                  82.43 |
| 7         | Chandigarh                 |                  81.19 |
| 8         | NCT of Delhi               |                  80.76 |
| 9         | Puducherry                 |                  80.67 |
| 10        | Daman &Diu                 |                  79.55 |
| 11        | Nagaland                   |                  76.11 |
| 12        | Himachal Pradesh           |                  75.93 |
| 13        | Maharashtra                |                  75.87 |
| 14        | Sikkim                     |                  75.61 |
| 15        | Tamil Nadu                 |                  73.44 |
| 16        | Meghalaya                  |                  72.89 |
| 17        | Punjab                     |                  70.73 |
| 18        | West Bengal                |                  70.54 |
| 19        | Manipur                    |                  70.26 |
| 20        | Uttarakhand                |                  70.01 |
| 21        | Gujarat                    |                  69.68 |
| 22        | Karnataka                  |                  68.08 |
| 23        | Assam                      |                  66.27 |
| 24        | Haryana                    |                  65.94 |
| 25        | D &NHaveli                 |                  64.32 |
| 26        | Odisha                     |                  64.01 |
| 27        | Chhattisgarh               |                  60.24 |
| 28        | Madhya Pradesh             |                  59.24 |
| 29        | Andhra Pradesh (Undivided) |                  59.15 |
| 30        | Arunachal Pradesh          |                  57.7  |
| 31        | Uttar Pradesh              |                  57.18 |
| 32        | Jammu &Kashmir             |                  56.43 |
| 33        | Jharkhand                  |                  55.42 |
| 34        | Rajasthan                  |                  52.12 |
| 35        | Bihar                      |                  51.5  |

***