New Delhi, May 26: The importance of education for someone who represents a large number of people in Parliament cannot be overemphasised. Among the newly-elected MPs, 43 per cent are graduates, 25 per cent post graduates, and 4 per cent are doctorates, according to data collated by the PRS Legislative Research.
As many as 394 newly-elected members of the Lok Sabha have at least graduate-level education, according to a think-tank.
In the soon-to-be-constituted 17th Lok Sabha, 27 per cent of the MPs have studied till class 12, while in the 16th Lok Sabha 20 per cent MPs had studied till class 12. Interestingly, the percentage of MPs elected in the 2014 general elections who do not have a matriculate degree is significantly higher (13 per cent) in comparison to the 15th Lok Sabha (3 per cent). The current Lok Sabha has only one illiterate MP, a member of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Since 1996, at least 75 per cent of representatives of each Lok Sabha have been graduates. BJP-led NDA to a landslide victory with the alliance winning 353 seats, including an unprecedented 303 by the BJP.