The literacy rate of women in India has increased by 68 per cent - up from 9 per cent at the time of Independence to 77 per cent at present. 

According to the World Bank India report, only 1 of 11 girls was literate during the period surrounding India's Independence. Currently, 84.7 per cent of males are literate in India. 

As per the National Sample Survey report, Kerala is the most literate state in the country with 92.2%, followed by union territory Lakshadweep (91.85%). The third-most literate state in the country is Mizoram (91.33%). 

Meanwhile, Bihar has the lowest literacy rate in India at 61.8%, followed by Arunachal Pradesh at 65.3% and Rajasthan at 66.1%.

However, around 12.6% of students drop out of school in India, and 19.8% discontinued education at the secondary level.

According to a Livemint report, India's literacy rate is low in rural areas and in some pockets of urban areas. The literacy rate in rural India is 67.77% as compared to 84.11% in urban India.

According to the report, female students faced significantly higher dropout rates due to prevalence of early marriage and education not being considered as a priority for girls.

The Ministry of Education’s Samagra Shiksha Scheme launched in 2018-19 aims at ensuring inclusive and quality education at elementary and secondary levels and is funded jointly by the central and state governments on a 60:40 sharing basis.

In 2021-22, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Punjab were among the four states which received more than 90% of the government-approved share, according to an analysis.

Image courtesy: Representative image/Hindustan Times