International Literacy Day: India’s Real Test Begins Beyond Literacy
· Free Press Journal
International Literacy Day provides an occasion for celebration, but in India it should also be an occasion for uncomfortable questions. What exactly are we celebrating? A rising literacy rate is undoubtedly a major social achievement, but literacy is only the first step towards education. A person who can read, write and perform basic calculations is literate; an educated person should also be able to understand, reason, acquire skills, make informed decisions and participate in society.
This distinction makes the celebrations meaningful only if they become a reminder of the unfinished educational agenda. India has made progress since Independence, but the distance between states remains wide and the gap between enrolment and actual learning remains even more worrying.
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The uneven national picture
The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey data show how uneven the country’s literacy landscape remains. For persons aged seven years and above, literacy in 2025 was about 73.1 per cent in Bihar, 74 per cent in Rajasthan, 74.6 per cent in Telangana, 77.2 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and 79.5 per cent in Jharkhand. Andhra Pradesh stood at 71.4 per cent. At the other end, Kerala was at 95.6 per cent and Mizoram at 99.8 per cent. Himachal Pradesh, at 98.8 per cent in the same survey, was among the stronger and top performers, although the state has since reported a 99.5 per cent literacy achievement under its full-literacy campaign.
These figures expose the danger of looking at India through a national average. Educational opportunity remains deeply influenced by geography, poverty, gender, social conditions and the capacity of state governments to maintain schools and retain teachers. Bihar and Rajasthan, for example, still face a formidable task in raising literacy among older generations and narrowing the gender gap.
For Maharashtra, the 2011 Census recorded a literacy rate of 82.9%, well above India’s national average of 74%. Male literacy was 89.8%, while female literacy was 75.5%, leaving a gender gap of about 14.3 percentage points. The state had improved from 76.9% in 2001 to 82.9% in 2011.
Maharashtra’s overall figure, however, conceals considerable regional inequality. Urban literacy was 88.7% compared with 77.0% in rural areas, a gap of nearly 12 percentage points. Mumbai Suburban recorded around 90.9%, while the tribal-dominated Nandurbar was at only 63.0% and Gadchiroli at 70.6%. Thus, Maharashtra demonstrates that a high state-level literacy rate can coexist with serious rural, tribal and regional disparities.
Southern states — 2011 literacy rates
State Literacy rate
Kerala 93.9%
Tamil Nadu 80.3%
Karnataka 75.6%
Andhra Pradesh 67.7%
Kerala was the clear national leader, while Tamil Nadu was well ahead of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Maharashtra, with 82.9% literacy, was therefore ahead of all these major southern states except Kerala.
Punjab’s literacy rate was 76.7% according to the 2011 Census, while Haryana recorded 76.6%. Punjab had risen from 69.7% in 2001, and Haryana from 67.9%, showing substantial improvement in both states.
Delhi was considerably ahead, with a literacy rate of 86.3% in 2011, compared with 81.7% in 2001. The roughly 10-percentage-point gap between Delhi and Punjab and Haryana underlines the continuing educational challenge in the two neighbouring states.
The more serious question: what do children learn?
Literacy figures can conceal a more fundamental weakness. India has succeeded in bringing children into school, but schooling and learning are not synonymous. The ASER 2024 findings underline the problem. Among Class III children in rural India, only 23.4 per cent of those in government schools could read a Class II-level text in 2024, compared with 35.5 per cent in private schools. These numbers show how far foundational learning still has to travel.
The challenge is therefore to move from “schooling for all” to “learning for all”. Children must acquire reading comprehension, numeracy, scientific reasoning and communication skills at the appropriate age rather than merely progress from one class to another.
Himachal’s remarkable lesson
Himachal Pradesh offers a useful counterpoint. From literacy of barely seven per cent at Independence, the state has reached 99.5 per cent and has been recognised for achieving full literacy. The journey was built over decades rather than through one campaign.
The foundations were laid by the state’s first Chief Minister, Y.S. Parmar, and strengthened by successive Congress and BJP governments, including the administrations of the late Virbhadra Singh, Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal. During the 1960s and 1970s, Himachal devoted around 18-20 per cent of its budget to education despite limited resources. Schools were taken into remote areas and education became a route to social mobility.
The final push involved identifying adults left outside formal schooling and mobilising teachers, volunteers, panchayats and communities. The ULLAS programme provided a framework for adult literacy, including reading, writing, numeracy and elements of financial and digital awareness.
But Himachal itself demonstrates why literacy cannot be confused with educational success. Education Minister Rohit Thakur has pointed to the loss of nearly four lakh students from government schools over 15 years. Around 1,500 schools have reportedly been closed, merged or downgraded because of low enrolment, while some colleges have only 40-50 students. His call for fixed teacher tenures, an end to transfers during academic sessions, regular recruitment and institutions based on educational need rather than political considerations points to the next phase of reform.
The financial and administrative roadblocks
Quality education requires money, but money alone cannot solve the problem. Government schools need classrooms, laboratories, libraries, digital facilities, trained teachers and regular maintenance. Remote areas cost more to serve, yet they are precisely where the state cannot afford educational withdrawal.
India’s public spending on education has historically remained below the long-standing ambition of six per cent of GDP. States also carry much of the responsibility for school education, creating differences in fiscal capacity. Poorer states have fewer resources to improve infrastructure, recruit teachers and provide specialised support.
There is another hurdle: administrative instability. Frequent teacher transfers, vacancies, politicisation of postings and weak accountability disrupt classroom continuity. Technology can help, but a tablet cannot substitute for a competent teacher.
The road ahead
The Centre and states must now redefine success. The objective should not simply be to declare more districts or states literate, but to guarantee that every child acquires foundational literacy and numeracy early, completes secondary education and develops skills relevant to employment and citizenship.
The Centre has the responsibility to provide sustained financial support, set national standards and strengthen assessment, while states must improve recruitment, teacher deployment and school management. Local communities also need a greater role in holding schools accountable.
International Literacy Day therefore deserves celebration—but only with a sense of unfinished business. India has travelled a remarkable distance from mass illiteracy. The next distance is harder: converting literacy into learning, learning into skills and skills into dignity and opportunity. The success of the future will not be measured by how many people can sign their names, but by how many can read the world around them and shape their own [email protected]
(Writer is a strategic affairs columnist and senior political analyst based in Shimla. He is also Contributing Editor with The South Asian times from New York)