Light of literacy shines on Indian women

New Delhi, Nov 5: Once lagging behind, Indian women appear to be fast catching up with men in gaining literacy.

This is evident from the substantial rise in the level of literacy in the country between 1983 and 2005, with the greater spurt seen among women than men.

According to the survey, "Employment and Unemployment Situation in India," conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation, about 64 per cent of men and 45 per cent of the women were literate in the rural areas during 2004-05.

But in the urban areas, the gender divide has narrowed down with literacy levels among women being at 69 per cent against 81 per cent among men.

Interestingly, literacy rates among urban women surpassed that of rural men, the survey found.

The proportion of educated persons, that is, those educated up to secondary level and above, has increased in all categories between 1994 and 2005.

Over the years the literacy level has increased considerably in both rural and urban areas.

Literacy rates (number of literates per 1000 persons) which stood at 337 per 1000 persons among rural men and 230 among rural women in 1993-94 jumped to 361 per 1000 persons for rural men and 293 for rural women by 2004-05.

Secondary and higher levels of education among rural men stood at 134 per 1000 persons in 2004-05 compared to 98 per 1000 persons in 1993-94. In contrast, education levels for urban men were at 345 and 281 respectively.

Among rural women, secondary and higher levels of education was at a low of 34 per 1000 persons in 1993-94 which nearly doubled to 67 per 1000 persons in 2004-05 while their urban sisters were correspondingly at 187 and 255 respectively.

Educational attainment was found to determine the quality of a population and one's employment prospects, the survey said.

The survey also felt the need to examine the changes in the literacy rates over time.

Literacy level was judged as the ability to read and write a simple message in any language.

The proportion of educated persons has increased over the period for both men and women in urban and rural areas.

In rural India, the proportion of educated persons in 2004-05 was 13 and 7 per cent respectively among men and women and 35 and 26 per cent correspondingly in urban areas.

However, the survey noted considerable variation in the ratio of non-literate and educated in the major states.

The rate of unemployment among the educated, secondary and above, was higher than among those with below secondary level of education, the survey said.

This was true irrespective of whether the job seeker was residing in an urban or rural area, according to the survey.

The light of literacy was yet to shine forth in as many as 26 per cent of rural households and 8 per cent of the urban households where not a single member in the 15 years and above age-group could read and write a simple message with understanding.

The proportion of persons who changed their establishment was much less among those with education level of higher secondary and above compared to those with lower levels of education, be it in the rural or urban areas.

UNI