Chennai: Even after more than 60 years of independence, one out of ten households in India still doesn't have a single literate member, according to the Census 2011 data.
The country, however, has shown improvement in the literacy rate from 2001-11. The literacy rate has jumped by 10 % in this decade.
According to 2011 data, India has an effective literacy rate, among people aged 7 years and above, of 74%, a marked improvement from 2001, when the literacy was just 64.84%.
According to the Census 2011 data, more than one-third of the households have at least four literate members above the age of seven.
The data on literacy released on Friday states that India has 24.88 crore households and out of this, 9.56 crore (38.42 per cent) have at least four members who know to write and read.
There are also 2.42 crore households (9.74 per cent) which don't have even one person literate, it said.
In rural areas, the literacy rate is lower at about 68 per cent while in urban areas it is 84 per cent.
The data shows Bihar has the maximum number of households which don't have even one literate member. It said that Bihar has 33.59 lakh (17.79 per cent) households without a literate member.
Kerala is most literate state in the country. The state has least number of such households - 1.21 lakh or 1.5 per cent of the total household in the state.
Important facts:
Total number of households: 24.88 crore
Without a literate member: 2.42 crore
With 1 literate member: 3.09 crore
2 literate members: 5.14 crore
3 literate members: 4.65 crore
4 literate members or more: 9.56 crore
SASTRA University dean S Vaidhyasubramaniam said that the overall literacy has gone up due to schemes like Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and higher enrolment in schools in the last 10 years.
UNICEF child protection specialist R Vidyasagar said that households without even a single literate member must be in tribal areas and among migrant labourers.
In these areas, not many are aware of schools and there are no schools, he added.
He further said that rural households without any literate member must be in isolated areas like mountainous regions, in urban areas they consist of migrant labourers.
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