The Hindu Business Line : AP, Karnataka are literacy laggards: Survey report

Andhra Pradesh has the highest proportion of rural illiterates after Bihar. It also has the second highest proportion of urban illiterates, after Jammu and Kashmir.

The 63rd Report of the National Sample Survey on Household Consumer Expenditure, conducted in 2006-07, points out that AP’s rural literacy level is 52.5 per cent, against 52.2 per cent in Bihar. The all-India rural literacy level is 65.1 per cent.

Urban areas in AP have a literacy level of 77.6 per cent, against 77.3 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir and 78.5 per cent in Bihar. The all-India urban literacy level is 83.5 per cent.

Karnataka data

Karnataka’s rural and urban literacy levels are 62.8 per cent and 81.7 per cent, both below the national average. This goes to show that all the southern states cannot boast better social indices.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is nowhere near achieving its goal of providing “useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the 6-14 age group by 2010”. NSS data over the years show that the gender gap has not narrowed much.

In 1999-2000, the proportion of literate men and women in rural areas was 67.8 per cent and 43.3 per cent respectively. In 2006-07, the proportion of literate men and women in rural India was 75.9 per cent and 53.5 per cent.

In urban areas, the proportion of literate men increased from 86.5 per cent to 89.4 per cent between 1999-00 and 2006-07. The proportion of literate women increased from 72.3 per cent to 77.1 per cent.

Female literacy

It is not only the economically backward States that have fallen behind the national average in female literacy. The failure of relatively better off States to make advances in female literacy holds true, particularly for rural India.

While the national average for female literacy in urban India is 77.1 per cent, those below or close to it are: AP (69.8 per cent), Karnataka (75.1 per cent), J&K (66 per cent), Haryana (71 per cent), Punjab (77.2 per cent), Rajasthan (64.2 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (68.8 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (75.9 per cent), Bihar (69.8 per cent) and Uttaranchal (73.7 per cent).

In rural India, those below or near the national average of 53.5 per cent are: AP (41.9 per cent), Gujarat (54.6 per cent), J&K (56.2 per cent), Karnataka (53.2 per cent), Haryana (58.2 per cent), Punjab (58.7 per cent), Chhatisgarh (53.5 per cent), Jharkhand (45.4 per cent), MP (49.1 per cent) , Orissa (47.8 per cent), UP (48.7 per cent), and Bihar (38.2 per cent).

This perhaps explains the relatively high average rural household size in some prosperous states – Haryana (5.3), Gujarat (5.1) and Punjab (4.8) – in relation to the national average of 4.8. While the all-India average household size is 4.8, poorer States have a higher household size, such as Bihar (5.1), Chhatisgarh (5.1), Jharkhand (5.5), MP (5.6), Rajasthan (5.6) and UP (5.6).

The average urban household size is 4.3, but those above or close to it include not just the poor states but Haryana (4.8), Gujarat (4.6), Maharashtra (4.3) and Punjab (4.2). It is below four in AP, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal.

Kerala and the North-eastern States lead the way in literacy indices.

The patchy achievements in female literacy suggest that while post-reform years have led to a higher participation of women in the workforce, this has not translated into an opening up of educational opportunities.

Social attitudes seem to be coming in the way. These attitudes do not seem to disappear with a rise in prosperity, as is evident in the skewed sex ratios and high household size in some better-off States.

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