The census commission of India creates the definition of illiteracy and put forth the following conditions. A person should have knowledge of any Indian language and he should be able to write and read the same. Formal education is not required. Lets us go through the cause of illiteracy. The birth rate is higher than the death rate but the growth rate of adult literacy has slowed down gradually. Ineffective primary schools and lack of education facilities impact students. It is the sole responsibility of the government to take extra care to provide high-quality education and helps students complete studies and build their career.
Poverty has been an aggressive problem in India. Despite the fact that the ruling party changes every five years, India hasn’t seen any literate growth in the bottom-most states. There is a tremendous growth in population but not education and literacy in the economically weaker sections.
Strict rules and well-organized five-year plans should be promoted and implemented to eradicate poverty . Additionally, the economic weaker section, lower caste and poor people should be given free education for the betterment of their life. Besides poverty, government allocates minimal funds to the education sector. Meanwhile, women empowerment also weak. India is a home to highly proficient doctors and engineers; however, more than 60% of women are still illiterates. As per the census conducted in 2011, we have prepared a list of top 10 literate states of India.
List of Least Literate States in India
10. Chattisgarh
Since 1971 census has been taken in India. As per the census conducted in 2011, Chhattisgarh ranks as 10th place on the list of top 10 least literate states in India. The population was estimated at around 2.56 crores of which female and male are 12,712,303 and 12,832, 895 respectively. The total population was around 20 crores in 2001. The population growth was raised about 22.6% from 2001 to 2011. There were no improvements in life and education system. The total illiteracy rate is 71.04 out of which male and female are 81.45 and 60.59. Chhattisgarh ranks among tenth bottom most states when it comes to Primary and secondary education Index. After determining the infrastructure based on the classroom, drinking water facilities, toilets etc, the state ranks as 25th on the list of primary schools.
9. Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh ranks among the 9th bottom most states of India. Interestingly, the state stands at 10 the place on the list of Indian states with least population density. It has seen a tremendous population growth of about 20.3 % from 2001 to 2011. Madhya Pradesh covers an area of 308,245 square kilometers. The total illiteracy rate is 70.63 out of which male and female are 80.53 and 60.02 respectively.
Out of 600 districts, 587 have covered under the Adult Education programme. There has been a good progress in the awareness and Adult Education programme. As per census conducted in 2001, about 96.69 million people are registered under illiterate. Of which 60% of the total people are women and the rest belongs to scheduled caste and scheduled tribes. Under the Adult Education programme, more than 108 Jan Shikshan sadhanas are functioning. After implementing the programme, more than 2/3 rd of the female are literate.
8. Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh stands at 8th place on the list of least literate states of India. The total literacy rate is 69.72 of which male are 79.24 and female are 59.26. The total population of the state is 199,812,341, of which female are 95,331,831 and male are 104,480,510 respectively. The total population growth in the previous decade was 25.80%. The child sex ratio is 902. Uttar Pradesh covers an area of 240,928 squares kilometer with density 829 square kilometers. The female literacy rate in 2001 was 42.22%, which hiked to 57.18% in 2011.
7. Jammu & Kashmir
With the total literacy rate of 68.74, Jammu & Kashmir ranks as seventh among bottom most list. Jammu Kashmir shares its border with Punjab to the south, Azad Kashmir to the west and Gilgit Baltistan to the north. The literacy rate of the male is 78% and female are 58%. According to the report of CSIS 2004, the literacy rate of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan is 61% and 45% respectively. The primary school enrollment for boys and girls are 95%, 88% respectively. It is slightly higher than another region of Pakistan. The state government established its own School and university in 1970. The Jammu Kashmir State Board of School education handles education board such as primary board, higher secondary, college, university level etc. There are much notable research center and educational institutions in Jammu & Kashmir.
6. Jharkhand
Jharkhand is situated in eastern India, which is separated from southern part of the Bihar. Jharkhand shares its borders with Odisha to the south, West Bengal to the east, Chhatisgarh to the West and Bihar to the north. It covers an area of 79,710 square kilometers. The state was formed in the year 2000 with Jamshedpur as the largest city. The total literacy rate is 68%, of which male is 78.45% and female are 56.4%. The official language is Hindi. The total population of the state is 32,988,134. Unfortunately, Jharkhand suffers from a resource curse, thus it ranks as 6th place on the list. To promote elementary education, Jharkhand Education Project Council takes steps to spread education include SSA, NPEGL, DPEP, and KGBV. The state has started turning towards the goal of universal education but 100% enrollment in primary schools are not yet achieved.
5. Andhra Pradesh
With the literacy rate of 67.4%, Andra Pradesh ranks as 5th among the ten bottom most states in the list. It is the 8th largest state in India. Situated in the southeast, covers an area of 162, 970 square kilometers. As per the census 2011, it ranks as 10th among the most populous state. Andhra Pradesh is well known for its Krishnapatnam port, Konaveedu Fort, Tirumala temple, Saripalli temple and much more. Andhra is a home to numerous sacred place, religious temple, and historic monuments; however, the literacy rate is very low. The state government gives importance to the primary and secondary education. It aims at providing high-quality education to all the students from KG till university level. The education board includes Municipal, Andhra Pradesh social welfare, Residential, Zilla Parishad aided private school. The state government established Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies to reach the educational needs of students of all age group.
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4. Rajasthan
Situated in North India, Rajasthan shares its borders with Pakistan. Rajasthan is well known for its forts, palace, and kingdoms that ruled India. The literacy rate is 67.06%, of which males are 80.51% and females are 52.66%. The desert in Rajasthan is the largest desert in India. The Rajasthan borders are shared with five states: Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab. The total population is 68,548,437. The city is enriched with a rich variety of flora and fauna. Besides, it has numerous cultures that reflect the Indian life. Rajasthan focuses on traditional music, dance, and cultural activities. Hence, they don’t give much importance to the education standard.
3. Arunachal Pradesh
Geographically located in Northeast, covering an area of 83,743 square kilometers. It shares its border with Nagaland to the south, Bhutan to the west, China to the North and Myanmar to the east. With the literacy rate of 66.95%, Arunachala Pradesh stands at 3rd place on the list of top 10 Indian states with least literacy rates. The literacy rate of the male are 73.69 and female are 59.57. The gross domestic product is around 155.88 Billion INR in 2014. In order to improve the literacy rate, the state government tied up with some NGO like Vivekananda Kendra.
2. Telangana
With the literacy rate of 66.5, Telangana stands at 2nd place on the list of top 10 Indian states with least literacy rate. Telangana is the 12th largest state in India. It covers an area of 112,077 square kilometers. Some of the major cities of Telangana are Khammam, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal. The estimated population rate is 35,193,97 and the population density is 307 square kilometer. Two rich river, the Krishna and Godavari flows through Telangana, thus agriculture is the main source of their economy.
1. Bihar
With the literacy rate of 63.82, Bihar stands at 1st place on the list of top10 Indian states with the least literacy rate. It is the 13th largest state in India. The borders of Bihar are shared with West Bengal, Nepal, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. The literacy rate of the male is 73.39% and female are 53.33%.
This was the list of top 10 least literate states in India. There is not just one single cause for why literacy is a problem in India. The reasons are varied from person to person, and based on life situation, family background, education system, interest, challenges, personal strength, past life experience and much more. However, it is the responsibility of the state government to spread awareness about education, help parents make their children approach life in smart way.
Santosh Kumar, He is a SEO + Blogger have 12 years of experience in writing tutorial, informative and product reviews topics.
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