• The states with relatively high literacy are- Kerala (94%), Assam (84%), Maharashtra (81%)#
• The states with relatively low literacy are- Bihar (58%), Rajasthan (62%), Andhra Pradesh (64%)#
• 66% of the country’s adult population (population of age 15 & above) was found to be literate#
• The literacy rate (i.e. percentage of literates) for all ages among rural female (RF), rural male (RM), urban female (UF) and urban male (UM) populations was found to be 51.1%, 68.4%, 71.6% and 82.2% respectively. The corresponding rates two decades ago as estimated in NSS 42nd round (1986-87) were 24.8%, 47.6%, 59.1% and 74.0% respectively#
• In rural India, the literacy rate was the lowest for persons belonging to ST households (42%) followed by persons belonging to SC households (47%)*
• The proportions of persons in each education level were lower for females than for males, showing gender disparity in education*
• Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have shown highest rise in literacy rates between 1993-94 and 1999-2000*
• Literacy rate among the group holding the lowest size class of land was 52% while it was 64% for the group holding the highest size class of land*
• Nationally, the proportion of 7-10 year-olds not-in school is at 2.7%, and proportion of 11-14 year olds not in school is at 6.3%**
• Among all 6-14 year olds, the proportion of children attending private schools has increased from 16.4% in 2005 to 22.5% in 2008**
• Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Himachal Pradesh are states that lead the country in terms of children’s basic reading fluency**
• Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have made remarkable strides in improving basic math skills over the last year**
• Primary schools are available within 1 km of 92.5% rural habitations and 67.1% villages have government middle school**