In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections 2024, a diverse array of educational qualifications among winning candidates has been revealed. According to a report by the poll rights body Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), about 105, or 19 per cent, of the winning candidates, declared their educational qualification to be between class 5 pass and class 12, while 420, or 77 per cent, reported having a graduate degree or higher. Seventeen winning candidates were diploma holders, and one winner was "just literate," the ADR report indicated.
Notably, all 121 candidates who declared themselves illiterate lost the elections. Among the winning candidates, two had studied up to class 5, four up to class 8, thirty-four up to class 10, and sixty-five up to class 12.
Further analysis by think-tank PRS Legislative Research highlighted that agriculture and social work are the most common professions among the 543 Members of Parliament (MPs). In particular, 91 percent of MPs from Chhattisgarh, 72 per cent from Madhya Pradesh, and 65 percent from Gujarat indicated agriculture as one of their professions.
Additionally, about 7 per cent of the MPs elected to the 18th Lok Sabha are lawyers, while 4 percent are medical practitioners. The proportion of MPs with undergraduate degrees has increased steadily from the 1st Lok Sabha until the 11th (1996-98). However, the proportion of MPs without college education has also risen over the years. This figure has decreased from 27 per cent in the 17th Lok Sabha to 22 per cent in the 18th Lok Sabha, according to PRS.
The analysis further revealed that 5 per cent of the MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha hold doctoral degrees, with three of these doctoral degree holders being women.
Out of the 8,390 candidates who contested the elections, 121 candidates declared themselves illiterate and 359 stated they had studied up to the 5th grade. Official data shows that 647 candidates reported their education level up to the 8th grade. A total of 1,303 candidates declared they had cleared school, and 1,502 candidates stated they held a graduate degree. Additionally, there were 198 candidates with doctoral degrees.
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