The Union Education Ministry’s literacy programme has encountered a Bihar-sized hurdle on its path towards achieving 100 per cent literacy by 2030, with the state—among those with the lowest literacy rates—being unwilling to participate in the scheme.
The scheme, ULLAS (Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society), was launched by the Centre in 2022. It requires states to identify those over the age of 15 who are not literate through door-to-door surveys, and to provide them training—either online or in person—in basic literacy and numeracy that a Class 3 student would learn. These individuals must then take a test, and those who clear it are certified as literate.
So far, five States/Union Territories–Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Goa, Tripura, and Ladakh—have declared themselves ‘fully literate’. Bihar and West Bengal have yet to participate, with Bihar’s literacy rate giving particular cause for concern.
The 2023-24 Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) annual report shows that Bihar’s literacy rate of 74.3 per cent among those aged seven and above is the second lowest in the country, after Andhra Pradesh’s figure of 72.6 per cent. West Bengal, in contrast, recorded a figure of 82.6 per cent, which is above the national average of 80.9 per cent.
This concern is not new. The 2011 Census showed that Bihar had a literacy rate of 61.8 per cent, the country’s lowest figure, and below the national average of 73 per cent. Meanwhile, West Bengal stood above the national average even in the Census, recording a rate of 76.3 per cent.
A senior official in the education ministry said that the ministry has been drawing Bihar’s attention to the ULLAS scheme repeatedly, flagging it in meetings that have taken place after written communications were sent, since the state “has one of the highest illiteracy loads”.
In October last year, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan wrote to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, urging the state to participate. “I am informed that Rs 15.79 crore was released to Bihar during FY 2023-24 under the ULLAS scheme, as projected by your state. However, the scheme has not been implemented, and neither the annual plan has been submitted, nor the funds released have been utilised,” he wrote.
“In light of the critical importance of achieving full literacy, I urge you to take immediate action in order to make the state fully literate by utilising the benefits of ULLAS. Bihar’s active participation is essential in attaining the national goal of 100% literacy by 2030,” Pradhan added.
The letter pointed out that the 2023-24 PLFS report showed a national literacy rate of 80.9 per cent for individuals aged seven and above, with a rate of 87.2 per cent among men, and 74.6 per cent among women.
“As compared to the national average, Bihar’s total literacy rate is 74.3 per cent, with 82.3 per cent for males and 66.1 per cent for females. There are almost 2 crore non-literates aged 15 to 59, with around 67 lakh males and 1.32 crore females. You would agree that these statistics underscore the urgent need for targeted literacy initiatives in your state,” Pradhan wrote.
Months earlier, in July 2024, School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar wrote to the chief secretary of Bihar, asking that the state utilise the funds released and implement the scheme “for the larger benefit of the community.”
The communication referred to an amount of Rs 35.09 crore–central share of Rs 21.05 crore and state share of Rs 14 crore–which was approved in 2023-24 for 18.80 lakh learners. The first instalment of 75 per cent of the approved amount–Rs 15.79 crore–was released as the central share to Bihar in 2023.
“However, even after one year, the state of Bihar has not transferred the central share from state treasury to the SNA (single nodal agency) account along with commensurate state share. As per the Department of Expenditure letter dated 16.02.2023, ‘The state government shall transfer the central share as well as the commensurate state share to the SNA account within 30 days of receipt of central share.’ Further, interest will be charged w.e.f 01.04.2023 on the number of days of delay beyond 30 days in transfer of central share to the SNA account at the rate of 7 per cent per annum,” the secretary’s letter noted.
Asked about the state not participating in the scheme, senior officials in the Bihar Education Department pointed to the state’s own literacy scheme – ‘Akshar Anchal’ – which has been in place for close to a decade-and-a-half, aiming for literacy among members of the Dalit, Mahadalit, and minority communities, extremely backward classes, and women.
It includes ensuring schooling for children in the 6-14 age group, and basic literacy and numeracy among women in the 15-45 age group. Women of the targeted groups take a test on basic literacy organised by the state every six months, officials said.
The state’s outlay for the Akshar Anchal scheme is larger than the amount that would be spent on ULLAS, officials added.
The ULLAS programme has been launched in keeping with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which calls for government initiatives for adult education “as soon as possible” to expedite the aim of achieving 100 per cent literacy. The goal of achieving full literacy by 2030 is in line with one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
At least two southern states and one Union Territory are close to declaring themselves ‘fully literate’ under ULLAS, joining the five that have already done so, another education ministry official said. Declaring states as ‘fully literate’ hinges on the states identifying non-literate people, training them, and getting them to take and clear the test. Figures from the upcoming Census could indicate the gains from the scheme, the official added.
In August last year, the education ministry wrote to states defining “literacy” and “100% literacy” for the purpose of ULLAS. Literacy was defined as “the ability to read, write, and compute with comprehension, i.e. to identify, understand, interpret and create, along with critical life skills such as digital literacy, financial literacy, etc.”
Achieving 95 per cent literacy in a state/Union Territory may be considered as equivalent to being fully literate, the ministry said then.
