Rural literacy in India increases by 10% in last decade, says Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary

Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary on Dec 9 said that the literacy rate in rural India has increased by over 10% in the last 10 years.

Chaudhary provided statistics showing that among people aged seven and older, the literacy rate in rural India increased from 67.77% in 2011 to 77.50% in 2023–2024.

Additionally, he said that male literacy increased from 77.15% to 84.7%, while female literacy increased from 57.93% to 70.4%.

“To improve the literacy rate, including rural literacy among adults in the country, the Government of India has launched many Centrally Sponsored Schemes/Programs over the years, such as Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (2018-19 to 2025-26), Saakshar Bharat (2009-10 to 2017-18), Padhna Likhna Abhiyan (2020-21 to 2021-22), and ULLAS-Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram/NILP (2022-23 to 2026-27), resulting in positive outcomes,” he said.

Additionally, he discussed the Nav Bharat Saksharta Karyakram (NILP), better known as "ULLAS: Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society," a centrally financed program.

The program aligns with NEP 2020 and focuses on women, rural areas, and educationally underdeveloped regions. It targets adults (those 15 years of age and older) who have not had the opportunity to attend school.

According to him, the program is executed in a hybrid mode, allowing States and UTs the option of offline, online, or a combination of both approaches.

He also mentioned that a dedicated ULLAS mobile app has been created to facilitate the registration of students and volunteer teachers.

The app further aids the teaching and learning process by providing users access to primers in 26 different languages.

According to him, two crore students have already taken the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT).

“Maharashtra is also implementing the scheme, and more than 10.87 lakh learners have been registered under the ULLAS scheme,” said Chaudhary.

“The state has conducted its first FLNAT, with more than 4 lakh learners appearing for the examination. However, Bihar has not yet implemented the ULLAS scheme,” he added.