Bihar has lowest literacy rate followed by Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan: Ministry of Education
New Delhi, Mar 13: Bihar has the lowest literacy rate in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, according to Ministry of Education.
The literacy rate in rural India is 67.77 per cent as compared to 84.11 per cent in urban India, it said.
The information was shared by Union Minister of State for Education, Annapurna Devi in response to a written question in Lok Sabha.
"Samagra Shiksha scheme envisages the school as a continuum from pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary levels.
"The states and UTs are assisted by the central government to implement the Samagra Shiksha as a programme for providing universal access and retention, bridging the gender and social category gaps in education and enhancement of learning level of children at all levels of school education," Devi said.
According to the data shared by the Ministry of Education, Bihar (61.8 pc) has the lowest literacy, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (65.3 pc) and Rajasthan (66.1 pc).
Kerala has the highest literacy rate (94 pc) followed by Lakshadweep (91.85) and Mizoram (91.33 pc), it said.
The ministry said to improve the literacy rate among adults in the country, a centrally sponsored scheme of Adult Education Saakshar Bharat.
It said the scheme was implemented in the rural areas of 404 districts in 26 states and one Union Territory, that had adult female literacy rate of 50 per cent and below as per Census 2001, including left wing extremism affected districts..., the ministry informed the House.
"The target was to raise the overall literacy rate of the country to 80 per cent and reduce gender gap to 10 per cent point by the end of XII five year plan.
"The scheme was extended up to March 31, 2018. During the implementation of Saakshar Bharat scheme, against the overall target of making 7.00 crore adult non-literates as literates, around 7.64 crore learners who passed the biannual Basic Literacy Assessment Tests conducted by National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) between August, 2010 to March, 2018, were certified as literates," said Devi.
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
