The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), November 2019, survey report on social consumption relating to education has painted a grim picture about the state of education in Odisha.
While the literacy rate is 77.3 per cent, only 31.4 % in the state are educated.
Literacy rate is defined as the percentage of literate persons in the age group of 7 years and above. A person who can read and write a simple message in any language with understanding, is considered literate in NSS surveys. On the other hand, a person is considered educated if he/she has completed secondary level /or above.
Odisha’s literacy rate is 0.4 per cent less than the national average of 77.7 per cent. However, there is a gap of 7.3 per cent in the state and national average when it comes to the educated populace.
There is a noticeable gap between literate males and females in Odisha too. The male literacy is 84 percent, while that of female stands at 70.3 per cent.
The urban and rural divide is also expressed in the literacy rate with 90.2 per cent and 74.5 per cent respectively.
The only silver lining is that Odisha fares better than its neighbours Andhra Pradesh (66.4 percent) and Jharkhand (74.3 per cent). However, West Bengal with 80.5 per cent has a better score in literacy rate.
But the same cannot be said when it comes to educated persons. While Odisha’s percentage is lower than Andhra Pradesh (33.9 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (32 per cent), it scores higher than West Bengal (30 per cent) here.
Kerala has retained its position as the most literate state with the highest literacy rate of 96.2 per cent.
