New Delhi: Showing signs of improvement in rural literacy rate, recent government data showed a ten per cent rise in the past decade. Rural Literacy rate have been significantly lower compared to the urban areas, In reply to queries related to rural literacy by MPs Shrikant Shinde, Naresh Ganpat Mhaske, and Rajesh Verma, in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary on December 9 stated that the rural literacy rate jumped from 67.77 per cent in 2011 to 77.5 percent in 2023-24 among persons aged seven and above.

The data shared by the minister also revealed the gender gap in the literacy rate. While male literacy was 77.15 percent in 2011 and the female literacy rate at 57.93 percent, both improved to 84.7 per cent and 70.4 per cent, respectively.

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In the written response, the minister elaborated on the initiatives the government has taken to improve the literacy rate in the country. “The Government of India has launched many centrally sponsored schemes/programs from time to time, like 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,” the response said.

The Chaudhary further elaborated the centrally sponsored scheme called Nav Bharat Saksharta Karyakram (NILP), pointing out that the scheme, aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, targets adults aged 15 years and above who couldn’t go to school and focuses on rural areas, educationally backward areas, women, etc.

The minister added that the scheme is implemented in a hybrid mode, with the states and UTs having flexibility in offline, online, or combined approaches. The scheme has five components: Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, Critical Life Skills, Basic Education, Vocational Skills, and Continuing Education, Chaudhary noted, highlighting that a dedicated ULLAS Mobile App has been developed for registering learners and volunteer teachers.

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“With continuous efforts, under ULLAS, more than 2 crore learners have been registered, and more than 1 crore learners have already appeared in the literacy test named the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT) across the country,” the minister said.

Referring to the challenges in the road to 100 percent literacy, Chaudhary stated that the large number of people with multiple languages, multiple cultural contexts, and unstructured learning arrangements are the difficulties in the process. While noting that Maharashtra is implementing the scheme and more than 10.87 lakh learners have been registered under the ULLAS, the minister said that Bihar has not yet implemented the ULLAS scheme.

The rural illiteracy has been one of the pressing problems in India since independence, and the country, under different governments, has taken multiple initiatives to address the gap