Female Literacy Rate Hike Of 68% Since Indian Independence

Despite rural India struggling with female literacy, a female literacy rate hike of 68 percent since Independence has been reported.

A report by LiveMint states that only 9 percent (1 out of 11 girls) were literate at the time of Independence. The female literacy rate is currently 77 percent compared to 84.7 percent of Indian males.

Kerala is the most literate state in India with 92.2 percent followed by Lakshadweep and Mizoram with 91.85 percent and 91.33 percent respectively according to the government's National Survey Report.

The state with the lowest literacy rate is Bihar at 61.8 percent, followed by two other states, Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan with 65.3 percent and 66.1 percent respectively.

Also Read: Female Literacy: Gender Dynamics That Works In Accessing Education

More Statistics Concerning The Female Literacy Rate Hike

12.6 percent of school dropouts and 19.8 percent of education discontinuation has been recorded among students.

The largest contributors to the above statistics are girl children who are married off early and those that come from families that do not prioritise educating girl children.

The number of minor girls being married off is 1.8 million globally.

The concerningly low literacy rate in rural India for females is 67.77 percent. This number is 84.11 percent for urban women in India.

The Samagra Shiksha Scheme (2018-19) was launched by the Ministry of Education. It aimed to envision schools as bodies that encompass preschools, an upper primary, primary, higher secondary, and secondary level of education.

Other than the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, Saakshar Bharat, a centrally sponsored scheme for the education of adults was also launched. The aim of this scheme was the improve adult literacy rates.

This scheme was applied to one Union Territory, all 26 states, and 404 districts that recorded an adult female literacy rate of 50% and lower as per the 2001 census. The scheme saw an extension till 31st of March, 2018.

The scheme's target was to convert 7 crore adult non-literates into literates.

The National Institute of Opening School (NIOS) conducted the Basic Literacy Assessment Test from August 2018 to March 2018. 7.64 people qualified for this test as literate.