Lok Sabha Question No. 966 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-17
Subject: Female Literacy
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: HARISH DWIVEDI, VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.966 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.12.2018

## Female Literacy

## †966. SHRI HARISH CHANDRA ALIAS HARISH DWIVEDI: SHRI VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK:

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

(a) the female literacy rate at present in the country, State/UT-wise including Maharashtra and Jharkhand ranking;

(b)  the  reasons  for  low  female  literacy  rate  in  all  the  States,  particularly  Maharashtra  and Jharkhand; and

(c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Union Government to increase female literacy rates in all the States including Maharashtra and Jharkhand?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (Dr. SATYA PAL SINGH)

(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 Maharashtra and Jharkhand,  as  per  Census  2011  is annexed. The  female  literacy  rates  in  Jharkhand  and Maharashtra are 55.42 per cent and 75.87 per cent respectively compared to the national average female literacy rate of 64.63 per cent. Various factors viz. poverty, gender and social inequities, etc. are impeding female literacy in the country.

(c)  In  order  to  improve  the  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 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.

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  &  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  966  FOR  17.12.2018  ASKED  BY  SHRI  HARISH CHANDRA ALIAS HARISH  DWIVEDI  AND  SHRI  VIJAY  KUMAR  HANSDAK REGARDING 'FEMALE LITERACY'.

## Rank-wise Female Literacy rate in the country, as per the Census 2011

|   S. No. | Name of States / UTs   |   Female Literacy Rate |
|----------|------------------------|------------------------|
|        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         |                  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  |