Question : NATIONAL LITERACY MISSION

(a) whether the targets set under theNational Literacy Mission in the EleventhFive Year Plan have been met;

(b) if so, the details thereof and if not,the reasons therefor along with the currentliteracy rate in the country and the totalnumber of illiterate population recorded asper the last census, State/UT and gender-wise;

(c) the details of the funds allocated/disbursed for the National Literacy Missionand for eradicating illiteracy in the countryduring the last three years and the currentyear, State/UT-wise;

(d) the details of the special steps beingtaken by the Government to assist Stateswhere the literacy rate is below the nationalaverage along with funds allocated to themduring the said period, State-wise; and

(e) the details of the targets fixed foreradication of illiteracy in the countryduring the 12th Plan period and steps taken/proposed to be taken to achieve the same?

MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI M.M. PALLAM RAJU)

(a) to (e) A statement is laid on the table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 82 FOR 11.12.2013 ASKED BY SHRI K. JAYAPRAKASH HEGDE AND SHRIMATI PRIYA DUTT REGARDING “NATIONAL LITERACY MISSION”.

(a) & (b) It was targeted to raise the literacy from 64.84% in 2001 to 80 percent and reduce gender gap from 21.59 percent points in 2001 to 10 percent points by the end of the eleventh Five Year Plan. As per Census 2011, the literacy rate has risen to 72.99% and the gender gap narrowed to 16.25 percent points.

14 States/UTs have achieved/exceeded the literacy rate of 80%. These States/UTs are: Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Goa, Tripura, Daman & Diu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, NCT of Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu. 10 States/UTs have been able to reduce the gender gap to 10 percentile points or less. These States/UTs are Punjab, Chandigarh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Goa, Lakshadweep, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Other States/UTs have not been able to achieve the two targets because of state specific reasons, large level of residual illiteracy and low female literacy being the most important of all. Since many of these States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are large States, the overall national target could not be achieved.The current literacy rate in the country and the total number of illiterate population recorded as per the last census (2011), State/UT and gender-wise, is at Annexure-I.(c)

The details of the funds allocated/disbursed under Saakshar Bharat Scheme, the new variant of the National Literacy Mission, for eradicating illiteracy in the country during the last three years and the current year , State/UT-wise, is at Annexure-II.

(d) & (e) For eradication of illiteracy in the country during the 12thPlan, it is targeted to raise literacy level to 80 percent and reduce the gender gap to 10 percentile points. To achieve this goal, the Government have enhanced the budgetary outlay for implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE) and Saakshar Bharat. Plan outlay of Rs.195726 crore has been provided for the two interventions with increased focus on equity, access and quality along with wide scale mass mobilization and awareness, community participation, capacity building and teachers’ training.
To give impetus to literacy in States with comparatively lower literacy levels, Saakshar Bharat Scheme is concentrated on districts where the adult literacy levels are much below the national average. All districts, that had adult female literacy of 50% or below (as per 2001 Census), are coverable under the scheme. The State/UT-wise details of funds sanctioned during the last three years and the current year, is at Annexure-II.