Over 130 million of workforce below matric level in India

NEW DELHI: In freshly-released census data on literacy status and educational levels of various types of workers and non-workers in the country, Census 2011 has found nearly 130.2 million of the total 362.6 million main workers to be literate but below matricsecondary level.

The census data released on Friday - which gives the distribution of main workers by educational level and age groups - further shows that 104.3 million (28.8 per cent) main workers are illiterates and 71.5 million (19.7 per cent) matriculatesecondary but below graduate level.

Of about 55.5 million marginal workers available for work in India, the majority of 21.9 million (39.4 per cent) are illiterates followed by 20.9 million (37.6 per cent) literates but below matricsecondary and 8 million (14.5 per cent) matricsecondary but below graduate.

However, among 60.7 million non-workers available for work in India, the major share is constituted by literates but below matricsecondary (33.6 per cent) followed by matricsecondary but below graduate (31.1 per cent) and illiterate (17.2 per cent).

The decade 2001-11 exhibited 59.2 million increase in literate main workers out of which maximum increase of 20.5 million was reported under the category matricsecondary but below graduate followed by 16.2 million as below matricsecondary and 11 million as graduate and above other than technical degree.

As per overall data, only 4.5 per cent of the country's population is educated up to the level of graduate or above while a majority 32.6 per cent population is not even educated till the primary school level.

Those educated till primary level are 25.2 per cent, middle school 15.7 per cent, matric 11.1 per cent, higher secondary 8.6 per cent and graduate and above 4.5 per cent.

During the decade 2001-11, improvement was observed at middle and above educational levels even as there was decline in percentage share at lower levels (below-primary and primary).