Economic Survey 2015: Female literacy improves; 10.9% over 5.6% male literacy

NEW DELHI: There has been a marked improvement in female literacy as per Census 2011, says the Economic Survey for 2014-2015. Though the male literacy is still higher at 80.9 per cent than female literacy at 64.6 percent, the increase has been 10.9 per cent compared to 5.6 per cent of the males.

Several initiatives could be attributed to this development.

The government's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' scheme created mass campaigns targeting changing social mindsets. In addition to this, the right of Children to free and compulsory Education (RCE) act 2009 is aimed at increasing the quality as well as accessibility of elementary Education in India.

However despite these measures, the Economic Survey points out that the overall standard of education in India is below global Standards. Also, there is a considerable scope for better post-secondary education in India as well as improvement of proficiency of young people.

The inadequacy of human capital at the base of the pyramid leads to a huge backlog in basic skills. This has become a big impediment to India's growth.

The 'Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat' initiative that aims to create a base for reading, writing, and math fluency among children can be effective if the local administration is fully involved and sensitized to it.

India has about 100 million young people in the age group of 15-18 years, majority of which may go to the unorganized sector due to lack of educational qualifications. There is a need for research into the type of knowledge and skills required to address this issue.

In order to build capacity in secondary schools on par with expanded primary enrolments, several schemes like the Mid-Day Meal scheme, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, Model School Scheme and Saakshar Bharat/Adult Education have also been implemented in the country.