Despite many government efforts, female literacy remains a laggard in India.
The provision of educational opportunities for women in India has been an important part of the national development agenda since independence. It is a well-known fact that a rise in education levels among women leads to a dramatic improvement in other developmental indicators in health. However, World Bank estimates for 2006 reveal that a little more than half the female population (above 15 years) in India is illiterate. Further, the gender gap in the literacy rate since 1991 dropped by only four percentage points, that is, from 28 per cent in 1991 to 24 per cent in 2006. A comparison of the country’s literacy rate with China’s highlights the extent of backwardness in India. In 1990, 68 per cent of women in China were found literate, which is higher than what India attained in 2006. Also, the gender gap in literacy rates in China in 1990 was 19 percentage points. This fell to merely six percentage points by 2009 with 91 per cent female literacy.
According to Census 2001, only three states in the country crossed 80 per cent female literacy rates — Kerala, Mizoram and Lakshadweep. The variation in female literacy rates across the country is huge, ranging from 33 per cent in Bihar to 88 per cent in Kerala. Along with Bihar, other states and Union Territories with exceedingly poor female literacy rates are Jharkhand, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir. Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have shown the highest progress in increasing female literacy in the period 1991-2001.
| BLACKBOARD BLUES Literacy rate (15+ years) in India | |||
| India 1991 | India 2006 | China 1990 | |
| Female literacy rate | 34 | 51 | 68 |
| Male literacy rate | 62 | 75 | 87 |
| Literacy rate | 48 | 63 | 78 |
| Source: World Bank | |||
The extent of gender inequality is evident across the country. According to Census 2001, the gap in literacy rates between men and women exceeds 30 percentage points in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Rajasthan. The relative condition of women in terms of literacy rates is equally worse in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, where the gap is much higher than the all-India average of 22 percentage points. Moreover, these states have witnessed an insignificant improvement since 1991. For instance, in Bihar and Jharkhand the gap reduction was merely two percentage points. Uttarakhand witnessed the largest gap reduction of seven percentage points compared to other states.(Click here for table)
Realising the importance of educating women, the Central and state governments have introduced various schemes time and again. For instance, the mid-day meal scheme, increasing toilet facilities in schools, cycles for girls, Mahila Samakhya Scheme since 1989 in rural areas of Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh Assam, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat and Karnataka, among others. The latest scheme, Saakshar Bharat, launched in 2009 with a special focus on female literacy aims to cover districts with female literacy rates of 50 per cent and below. In 2009-10, the mission was rolled out in 167 districts in 19 states.
Promoting gender equality and women empowerment is one of the Millennium Development Goals. Yet, despite various government efforts, current statistics show that the country has a long way to go before female literacy rates match male literacy rates.
Indian States Development Scorecard is a weekly feature by Indicus Analytics that focuses on the progress in India and the states across various socio-economic parameters