Literacy in Million Cities

Literacy in Million Cities This chapter explains the progress of urban literacy in India. It mainly focuses on the pattern and change of literacy rate between 2001 to 2011 censuses and gender disparity in million plus cities and in urban areas. Literacy and level of education are basic indicators of the level of development achieved by a society. Spread of literacy is generally associated with important traits of modern civilization such as modernization, urbanization, industrialization, communication and commerce (Census, 2001). Literacy has been considered one of the most important attributes for social development. It is seen as a prerequisite for economic growth, social mobility and political stability. Illiteracy, by contrast, has frequently been related to increased poverty, under development, political volatility and economic stagnation (Roberts, 2000). The human development index (HDI) developed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is often regarded as an alternative to income-based measures of welfare. HDI has three indicators: longevity, education and standard of living. It shows that rising income is not the only central concern of human development, but education and literacy are also important for development of nation and society. Literacy creates the conditions for stimulating initiatives as well as human participation in creation of projects that act upon, transform the world and define the aims and objectives of an authentic human development (Anurag, 2001). For the purpose of census, a person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with any understanding in any language, is treated as literate. In earlier Censuses up to 1981, it was customary to work out the literacy rate taking into account the total population. Since literacy rate is more meaningful if the sub-population in the age group 0-6 is excluded from the total population, it was decided in 1991 to calculate literacy rate for the population seven years and above. The same concept has been retained in all Censuses since 1991 (Census of India, 2011). Literacy studies Education is one of the greatest needs of our time as it brings improvement in quality of life and plays a pivotal role in the social reconstruction (Singh and Patidar, 2011). Literacy, a qualitative aspect of population is one of the most significant indicator of social awakening

and cultural advancement of the people in an area, whereas a change in literacy reflects the socio-economic and cultural transformation of the society (Ram and Dabral, 1998). It is a valuable skill in most environments nowadays. People are helped by literacy when they travel, when they sign agreements, when they vote, when they work, when they shop or sell, or just when they enjoy reading news, jokes or stories (Lind, 2008). So, a minimum level of literacy is essential for a person to get out of ignorance and backwardness. A high level of literacy reflects the dynamic character of the city population (Rao, 1979). So, Literacy studies have become an important focus of research. For a geographer, literacy is that qualitative attribute of population which is a fairly reliable index of the socio-economic development of an area (Raj Bala, 2007). Inequality in education by residence and gender is found all over the world. But the gap is more prevalent in developing countries rather than developed countries. It is also documented in the Report of the World Cities in 2007/08 and 2010/11. The report highlights that most national and international literacy and education programmes so far have focused on reducing the urban/rural gap in education, overlooking the divide between rich and poor prevailing in urban areas. In 2005, some 72 million children around the world remained out of school, with a majority (41 million) of girls from groups with multiple disadvantages and living mainly in sub-saharan Africa and Southern Asia. The girls are still at a disadvantage, resources and school facilities are limited and enrolment is altogether low. In many countries with low overall enrolment, fewer than 50 per cent of primary school-aged girls are involved. Female illiteracy rates remain high in these parts of the world, particularly in urban poor and rural areas, where many girls drop out of school too early to acquire the skills they need to function as literate individuals. If school enrolment and achievement are to be improved in poor urban areas, a combination of incentives that stimulates both demand and supply is required. On the demand side, incentives for poor families can include stipends, scholarships, free textbooks and learning materials, safe and affordable transportation schemes, and community awareness campaigns. On the supply side, it is for public authorities to build more secondary schools in poor urban areas or, alternatively, add boarding facilities to existing schools. Furthermore, direct linkages between secondary education and local work opportunities are required if graduates employment prospects are to be enhanced. This type of scheme can boost both enrolment and achievement for all underprivileged groups, including girls and children from poor urban areas. 67

In Indian context, a number of studies have been done so far on various aspects of literacy in different part of the country. Govinda and Biswal (2005) mapping the literacy scenario in India had raised the question: who are the illiterates and where do we find them? They observed that illiterates are found across all regions and demographic groups in India. They are found in both rural and urban areas; relatively more in rural areas because of obvious reasons. The illiterates are mostly females and belong to socioeconomically backward communities, particularly scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Poverty happens to be the single most important factor contributing to high illiteracy rate in the country. Azim (2005) explained the interstate variation in literacy growth disparities in Karnataka. Within the state, there are huge disparities based on region and gender. The Hyderabad-Karnataka region is the worst performer. A comprehensive programme is required to improve the state's performance. Developmental strategy should shift priority from investment and income to education and health. Thakur (2009) aimed to describe the spatio-temporal variations in the level of literacy and attainment of education among scheduled tribes of Himachal Pradesh. The study highlighted the spatial variations in gender disparity at various levels of education. Sopher s disparity index modified by Kundu and Rao (1985) has been used to compute gender disparity in literacy at both village and household levels. The study reveals that the literacy scenario has undergone considerable positive change and gender gap has also declined during the last 30 years. The overall literacy rate in tribal region has increased significantly. Female literacy rate has also increased at a faster pace resulting in significant narrowing down in the literacy gap between males and females. Shafiqullah (2011) has analysed the trends of differential in literacy rate, spatial patterns of urban-rural differential and the relationship between differential index and selected variables of development among the districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. The urban-rural differential index is found to be high in the south-eastern part and it tends to decline towards western part of the state. The relationship between rural literacy and urban literacy rate are marked by a substantial increase from western-central to eastern regions. The t test reveals that male literacy rate, female literacy rate, urbanization, per capita income, commercialization, educational facilities, and medical facilities are the chief determinants. Singh and Patidar (2011) focused on literacy differentials in tribes of south-east Rajasthan. Literacy among the tribal population is very low and it is considered as a result of their long 68

aloofness to the mainstream of the society. The differential index calculated from literacy from tribal-non tribal and male-female also make it clearer that the inequalities existing during 1960s to 1970s are still persistent with only minor changes. A severe problem faced by Indian society is the educational deprivation of children of the school age group (5 to 14 years). Another problem that the Indian education system has been experiencing is high dropout. The recent evidence, however, shows that the problem is not the high dropout rate but non-enrolment of school age children (Venkatanarayana, 2009). At the time of Independence, the gross enrolment rate in the 6-14 age groups was just 42.6 percent. The rate is now as high as 96.3 percent in 2001. But on the flip side, the reality is that 42 percent of the children enrolled still dropout out before completing primary education especially in slums areas (Khasnabis and Chatterjee, 2007) which affects the literacy rate in urban area. Urban area does not mean very high literacy and well developed all the time. The intra city disparity exists everywhere though the degree is not uniform. In general, the level of literacy in slums area has been found less than the non-slum areas. Regional variations in the distribution of literacy exist in every state. Intra- city analysis has been done for Kolkata, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Ludhiana and Indore. The study finds out a major locational disparity in literacy i.e. slum population is educationally deprived. Similarly gender still appears to a major issue, female do show their critical condition in literacy not only in slum but also outside the slum in the city (Kumar et. al, 2007). Some scholars have studied various aspects of literacy rate. Mukundan and Bray (2004) worked on Decentralisation of Education in Kerala State; Lind (2008) on Literacy Programmes for Adults; Chudgar (2012) examined the relationship between household literacy and educational engagement in Rajkot district; McDougall (2000) analysed the Gender Gap in Literacy in Uttar Pradesh, Wagner et. al. (2010) study supports that the information and communication technology is useful in the development and promoting literacy among the poor. Studies on female literacy It is well known that in pre and early-british India there was a fairly widespread system of indigenous education. It was mostly confined to males of the Brahmin and higher castes 69

among Hindus and of privileged non-hindu minority groups. This is not to say that literate or educated women there were none. Their number was very small. There was no organized provision for educating women. Modern education for women in India began in the early years of the nineteenth century and by 1880 universities started admitting them, Calcutta in 1877-78 and Bombay in 1883. A substantial advance in women's education, as also in other spheres of education, came about only after independence. The National Committee on Women's Education in its report submitted in 1959 had expressed great dissatisfaction at the slow progress of women's education in the first decade of independence (1947-57). It s very first recommendation asked the government to regard the education of women as a major and special problem and close the existing gap between the education of men and women in as short a time as possible (Kamat, 1976). Historically, a variety of factors have been found to be responsible for poor female education. It is low because of gender based inequality, social discrimination and economic exploitation, occupation of girl child in domestic chores, low enrolment of girls in schools, low retention rate and high dropout rate (National Literacy Mission, 1988). Female and scheduled castes have traditionally been characterised by low levels of literacy. It is more strong between scheduled caste and non-scheduled caste than between the male and female components of either group. The caste disparity is greater than the sex disparity in literacy (Raju, 1988). Cities differ strikingly in literacy rates which are related to their location, function, population composition and size. The literacy rates also have a strong association with the literacy patterns of the areas in which they are located. Cities with an industrial base or with a pre-eminence of administrative and educational services display higher literacy rates. Low literacy rates are characteristic of cities in which Muslims or Scheduled Castes form a substantial segment of the population. Broadly speaking, south Indian cities are distinguished by higher literacy rates than the north Indian ones (Krishan and Shyam, 1974). Singh (1998) has portrayed the picture of emerging trends of female literacy in India raising a number of questions like: What factors explain the preponderance of illiteracy marked by gender gaps and regional inequalities in females? Why do girls suffer educational deprivation? She has observed that the female literacy had increased from 9 percent in 1951 to 39.3 percent in 1991. The gender disparities were sharp at the turn of the 20 th century: the ratio between literate men and women being 17:1 in 1901 which got reduced to 6:1 in 1931. The gender gaps in education are not just a matter of supply-side shortage such as lack of 70

conveniently located schools, inflexible hours, irrelevant curricula, non-availability of female teachers and the absence of single sex school. The implications for government are clear; policies to expand access to schools and to improve school attendance for girls must focus not just on building more schools but on removing demand-side constraints through public awareness campaigns, child care centres, direct incentives and the hiring of more female teachers. The study points out that meeting of basic educational need of the millions of illiterate females is a daunting task. More than the financial capability it requires a strong political commitment to correct the situation. Bharati and Tripathi (2011) studied the spatial variation in female literacy in Jaunpur District. The research demonstrates that social, economic, cultural backwardness and improper implementation of government planning are the main reasons of poor female literacy. The Indian society has accorded differential status to women throughout the history. But there has been a significant change in the status of women in modern India. Educating women is critical to socio-economic development of nation. In the words of A.P.J Abdul Kalam Empowering women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation, when women are empowered, society with stability is assured. Empowerment of women is essential as their thoughts and their value systems lead the development of a good family, good society and ultimately a good nation. Education would emancipate and endow women with ability to control her life, accomplish her dreams and enhance her status (quoted in Sharma, 2008, p. 5). After the Independence a number of literacy programme were launched to enhance the literacy rate by different commissions like Secondary Education Commission (1952-53), Kothari Commission (1964-66). These were appointed for improvement in literacy. Several programme like National Adult Education Programme (1978), Minimum level of learning (1984), Operation Black Board (1987), Mahila Samakhya (1987), National Literacy Mission (1988), District Primary Education Programme (1994), Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (2001) were started to improve literacy rate. Open school was started in 1979 to provide education to those people who are unable to attend regular school. National Educational Policy (1986) laid stress on literacy of marginalised group such as women, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe population. The progress of literacy is more pronounced in urban areas rather than rural areas and more balanced in developed states rather than backward states in India. A number of studies 71

relate the progress of female literacy with socio-economic factors such as income, caste, religion and occupation which differentiate the level of education in different social groups. Another contributing factor of expansion of female literacy is state/central government policies like free education, girl schools, women teacher and educational committees and act (Right to Education Act, 2009). The increased literacy is the result of the development of economy, the spread of a modern national culture and opening of many new educational institutions with government and private efforts and privatisation of education. There were 1, 01,777 high schools and 50,272 higher secondary schools/institutions in the country in 2004-05. Out of this 41.1 percent were managed by government and local bodies, 29.4 percent were private aided schools and 29.6 percent by private unaided schools. About 57% high schools and 63% higher secondary schools are run by private sector. The 11th Plan had aimed to progressively raise the minimum level of education to high school or class X level. Up gradation of elementary schools to secondary schools in the higher priority in areas with high concentration of SC, ST and Minority population and low female. Taking note of the fact that there is a gross shortage of Secondary Schools for girls, the dropout of girls was extremely high mainly in northern states (Report of Eleventh Five Year Plan, 2009). In the Twelfth Plan, there has been improvement in the extension of primary education, both in regard to enrolment and in reduction of dropout rates. The Central Government introduced a programme of creating new Central Universities and other institutions of higher learning in the Eleventh Plan. This effort has begun, but it will have to be continued into the Twelfth Plan period to reach its full potential (Approaches to The Twelfth Five Year Plan, 2012) The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 was aimed at ensuring that every child gets an opportunity to be literate. The salient features of this act is that every child in the age group of 6-14 has the right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school, till the completion of elementary education. Private school will have to take 25% of their class strength from the weaker section and the disadvantaged groups of the society through a random selection process. Government will fund education of these children (Right to Education Act, 2009, p. 5). The goal is yet to be fulfilled. Above studies systematically explain or explore the improvement and gaps in literacy among different social groups. Overall, the available literature indicates that improvement in literacy levels both in male and female all over the country is associated with increased 72

school enrolment through government policies and efforts of the private sector. In Indian context, it is more reflective in the urban areas. However, some recent research emerging in India on literacy and education has argued that Can India s literate read? (Kothari and Bandyopadhyay, 2011). In this context, increasing recognition of a broadened concept of literacy challenges policy-makers and practitioners to re-define literacy operationally, develop and apply appropriate methods of assessing literacy and consider and act upon the consequent policy implications (Ahmed, 2011). Table 5.1: Urban literacy in India 1951:2011 Census Years Literacy Rate Total Male Female Gender Gap (in percent point) 1951 34.6 45.6 22.3 23.3 1961 54.4 66.0 40.6 25.4 1971 60.2 69.3 48.8 20.5 1981 67.2 76.7 56.3 20.4 1991 73.1 81.1 64.0 17.1 2001 79.9 86.3 72.9 13.4 2011 85.0 89.7 79.9 9.8 Source: Govinda and Biswal, 2005 and Provisional Population Totals, 2011. Progress of urban literacy in India: 1951-2011 After Independence, there has been a remarkable growth in literacy rate in urban areas. In 1951 only 34.6 percent urban population was literate. It had increased to 73 percent by 1991 and 85% at the current census of 2011. There has been significant progress in male literacy in urban areas during this period. It has improved from 45.6 percent in 1951 to 90 percent in 2011. The female literacy was just 22.3 percent in 1951, which increased to 64 percent in 1991 and 80 percent in 2011. After 1961, the rise in the female literacy was more than male literacy in percent point in each decade. In the entire period the differential gap in malefemale literacy has continued to decrease and it is lowest in the current census that is only 9.8 percent point (Table 5.1). Current status of literacy rate in urban areas: A state level analysis, 2011 In 2011 census, the urban areas of Mizoram had registered the highest literacy rate of 98.1 percent followed by Kerala (95%) and Tripura (93.6%). Uttar Pradesh with a literacy rate of 77 percent ranked last in the country closely followed by Jammu & Kashmir (78.2%) and Bihar (78.8%). The rest of the states/union territories have recorded more than 80 percent 73

in percent CHAPTER V literacy rate in the country. In female literacy too urban Mizoram holds the first rank in the country (97.5%) followed by the Kerala (93.3%). Jammu & Kashmir (70.2%) has recorded the lowest female literacy in the country closely followed by Rajasthan (71.5%) state. Similarly, the backward states have recorded literacy below the national average like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Arunachal Pradesh. In the present census, there has been relatively greater progress in the female literacy rate rather than male literacy rate. The reduction of male-female literacy gap is another positive point for the society. 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Urban Literacy in India:1951-2011 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 Total Male Female Fig. 5.1: Urban literacy, 1951-2011. Urban literacy rate in 2011: Class-I Cities classified Literacy has become a condition to be able to eke out a living and bare minimum condition to thrive in mega cities. It opens up opportunities leading to both individual and group entitlements and facilitates social and economic progress. A positive relationship between the size of population and literacy rate in cities with million plus population is evident (Table 5.2). Pattern and change of literacy rate in million cities Cities with million plus population are the reflection of modern society in terms of education and development. The overall literacy in million plus cities is 88 percent which was 82.9 in 2001. The literacy rate for males and females are 91.5 and 84.1 percent in 2011 and 88.1 and 74

77 percent in 2001 respectively. The increase in literacy rate in males and females are in the order of 3.4 and 7.1 percent points respectively. Million plus cities have recorded high literacy rate for both males and females. Out of 53 million plus cities, only three cities namely, Agra (64.6%), Srinagar (71.8%) and Meerut (78.3%) have recorded less than 80% literacy whereas the corresponding number was 19 in 2011. These cities consist of a sizeable proportion of Muslim, scheduled caste and slum population which results in low literacy rate. All million plus cities in Kerala have recorded very high literacy rate, more than 93% which is comparatively high than the other cities. A majority of cities with million plus population with high literacy rate are located in the south India (Fig 5.2). It is attributed to a more sustained history of traditional learning, an early start in Western education, and the more vigorous efforts of Christian missionaries in this area (Krishan and Shyam, 1974). Table 5.2: Urban literacy rate in class-i cities, 2011 Cities population No. of Cities Literacy Rate Total Male Female More than 10 million 3 88.6 92.1 84.7 5-10 million 5 88.6 92.1 84.9 2-5 million 10 88.8 91.6 85.7 1-2 million 34 86.2 90.3 81.9 Total Million Plus Cities 53 88.0 91.5 84.1 0.5 million to 1 million 42 84.7 89.1 79.9 1 lakh to 5 lakh 372 84.5 89.4 79.3 Total Class-I Cities 468 86.6 90.7 82.3 Urban India 85.0 89.7 79.9 Source: Computed from Provisional Population Totals, New Delhi, 2011. The excessive illiteracy among females brings down the percentage of literacy in million plus cities. The 2011 census shows that 17.3 million persons of the million cities are illiterate in which males are 6.4 million and females 10.9 million. This raises a number of questions: Why is a sizeable section of the population in the cities illiterate? How do the male literacy rates in cities differ from those of female literacy? How do cities differ in their literacy rates with regard to their location, function, population composition and size? The reasons for considerable illiteracy in million plus cities are to be under-stood in the context of the illiterate population as a whole. No doubt the migrant population to cities from rural areas as also from smaller urban places consists of a large number of illiterates. The industrial structure of many cities is dominated by labour intensive, large-scale industries which can absorb illiterate migrants like Asansol, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur and Durag-Bhilainagar. 75

Besides, a considerable proportion of the population in million plus cities is engaged in household industries, general labour or in informal sector for which literacy is not an occupational must. Table 5.3: Top five Muslim (in percent) dominated cities and their literacy rate in 2001 Name of UA/M.Corp Percent Muslim population Literacy rate Meerut UA 36 68.5 Hyderabad UA 33 78.5 Varanasi UA 31 72.4 Bhopal UA 26 79.8 Lucknow UA 26 77.3 Source: Census of India, 2001 The differences in literacy rates of cities belonging to different regions are the outcome of various correlates. It is evident that the literacy rates of cities find a strong association with the literacy patterns of areas in which these are situated. The occupational structure of a city is also a strong factor in determining the literacy rate. Cities with a sophisticated industrial base requiring skilled labour like Bangalore and Pune display higher literacy rates than those cities where a considerable proportion of the population is engaged in household industries, and informal sector like Varanasi and Agra etc. The population composition of cities is another determinant factor; cities with a relatively high proportion of Muslims and Scheduled Caste are marked by low literacy rates like Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and in Rajasthan million plus cities (Fig. 5.2). Positive correlation exists between literacy of non-slum and slum (r=0.93) population. Where general literacy is high, slum literacy is also high in million plus cities. Besides being, the disparities in literacy rates of cities in a particular size category, the bigger cities display higher literacy rates than the smaller ones. Because the bigger cities, by virtue of being greater centres of modern industry, administration and education, tend to attract a higher proportion of literate migrants from different parts of the country. It is also notable that the literacy rates of state capital cities are generally higher than other cities. The cities situated in the two most literate states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are distinguished by high literacy rates of more than 90 percent. The same is the case with many cities in western Maharashtra like Greater Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Vasai-Vivar. In contrast, low literacy rates are typical of cities in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. Almost invariably, city literacy rates are closely related to the various levels of socio-economic development in different parts of the country. Thus, literacy rates of cities are related mainly to their location, function, population composition and size. 76

Table 5.4: Literacy rate and Gender Disparity in million cities, 2001-2011 Name of UA/City Literacy 2011 Literacy 2001 Gender Disparity Index Total Male Female Total Male Female 2011 2001 Kochi UA 96.4 97.7 95.1 94.3 96.6 92.1 0.023 0.040 Kannur UA 96.2 98.1 94.6 95.2 97.1 93.4 0.030 0.032 Thrissur UA 96.2 97.6 95.0 95.0 96.8 93.4 0.022 0.030 Kozhikode UA 95.5 97.7 93.6 93.9 96.7 91.2 0.035 0.048 Malappuram UA 94.6 96.8 92.6 93.9 96.0 91.8 0.036 0.037 Kollam UA 93.3 95.4 91.4 91.6 94.1 89.1 0.035 0.044 Thiruvananthapuram UA 93.2 94.9 91.7 92.2 94.7 89.9 0.027 0.042 Nagpur UA 93.2 96.2 90.0 89.4 94.0 84.4 0.054 0.084 Vadodara UA 92.1 95.4 88.4 86.8 91.9 81.2 0.061 0.095 Pune UA 91.4 95.0 87.4 86.3 91.7 80.3 0.066 0.101 Tiruchirappalli UA 91.2 94.7 87.8 88.6 93.5 83.8 0.061 0.085 Vasai Virar City (M Corp.) 91.2 94.9 86.9 90.5 93.8 86.9 0.07 0.06 Madurai UA 91.1 94.9 87.2 86.8 92.1 81.3 0.067 0.096 Nashik UA 91.0 95.0 86.5 86.4 92.3 79.7 0.075 0.111 Greater Mumbai UA 90.8 93.9 87.2 87.1 91.5 81.5 0.058 0.089 Chennai UA 90.4 93.6 87.1 85.7 90.6 80.5 0.057 0.089 Bangalore UA 89.6 92.6 86.2 84.7 89.2 79.8 0.056 0.083 Ahmadabad UA 89.5 94.0 84.5 83.9 89.9 77.3 0.084 0.113 Coimbatore UA 89.2 93.2 85.3 86.4 91.7 80.8 0.069 0.097 Aurangabad UA 89.2 94.1 83.8 83.7 90.8 75.9 0.09 0.133 Jabalpur UA 89.1 93.1 84.8 84.9 90.4 78.7 0.072 0.104 Surat UA 89.0 92.7 84.0 83.0 88.2 76.0 0.077 0.109 Ranchi UA 88.4 92.9 83.6 84.0 90.2 76.9 0.082 0.119 Rajkot UA 88.4 92.3 84.0 83.0 88.4 77.2 0.073 0.101 Kolkata UA 88.3 90.9 85.5 82.6 86.5 78.1 0.048 0.076 Durg-Bhilainagar UA 87.0 93.1 80.6 82.9 90.8 74.4 0.107 0.148 Indore UA 86.7 91.4 81.7 83.0 89.0 76.4 0.087 0.114 Chandigarh UA 86.6 90.7 81.6 82.6 86.8 77.4 0.081 0.084 Raipur UA 86.5 92.1 80.4 80.9 88.6 72.5 0.103 0.146 Delhi UA 86.4 91.1 81.1 82.0 87.4 75.3 0.088 0.109 Allahabad UA 86.1 89.8 81.6 80.7 86.0 74.1 0.073 0.108 Jamshedpur UA 85.9 91.3 80.1 82.0 88.8 74.3 0.096 0.13 Ludhiana (M Corp.) 85.4 88.4 81.9 79.8 82.0 77.0 0.057 0.045 Bhopal UA 85.3 89.3 80.9 79.8 85.5 73.3 0.074 0.111 Gwalior UA 85.1 90.8 78.6 80.1 87.8 71.2 0.109 0.152 Faridabad (M Corp.) 84.9 90.4 78.5 79.6 86.9 70.7 0.106 0.148 Lucknow UA 84.7 87.9 81.3 77.3 81.9 72.0 0.059 0.091 Ghaziabad UA 84.7 90.1 78.7 79.7 86.7 71.6 0.119 0.138 Amritsar UA 84.6 87.5 81.4 78.7 81.9 75.1 0.053 0.062 Jaipur (M Corp.) 84.3 90.6 77.4 78.1 86.5 68.4 0.118 0.167 Patna UA 84.1 87.5 80.2 79.9 86.0 72.5 0.065 0.123 Kanpur UA 84.0 85.7 81.9 78.6 82.8 73.7 0.035 0.083 Kota (M Corp.) 83.7 90.6 75.9 80.6 89.0 71.0 0.131 0.164 Hyderabad UA 82.9 86.1 79.5 78.5 83.9 72.6 0.059 0.103 Visakhapatnam 82.7 88.0 77.2 78.8 85.9 71.4 0.097 0.132 Vijayawada UA 81.6 85.6 77.6 77.8 83.0 72.6 0.072 0.095 Jodhpur UA 81.0 88.0 73.2 76.7 85.7 66.5 0.134 0.178 Dhanbad UA 80.6 87.9 72.5 74.9 83.9 64.1 0.14 0.186 Varanasi UA 80.3 84.7 75.4 72.4 79.3 64.4 0.084 0.141 Asansol UA 80.0 86.3 73.1 74.5 82.5 65.4 0.12 0.16 Meerut UA 78.3 83.7 72.2 68.5 75.0 61.1 0.106 0.135 Srinagar UA 71.5 78.2 63.7 65.1 74.3 53.9 0.138 0.204 Agra UA 64.6 69.2 59.3 70.3 76.6 62.9 0.099 0.131 Total 88.0 91.5 84.1 82.9 88.1 77.0 0.065 0.099 CV 6.7 5.6 8.6 8.0 6.1 11.0 Source: Computed from Census of India, PCA: 2001 (UA/Towns) and Provisional Population Totals, 2011. 77

Gender Disparity in literacy rate in million cities 2011 census in India reported 91.5 percent male literates and 84.1 percent female literates in million plus cities. A positive development in the present decade is that the average gap of 11.0 percent points recorded between male and female literacy rate in 2001 census has got reduced to 7.4 percent in 2011. It is a notable feature that out of 53 million cities 51 has reduced the male female literacy gap from 0.2 point percent in Kochi to 6.2 percent in Jaipur city. Only two million cities namely Tiruchirappalli and Jamshedpur have increased the male female literacy gap from 1.1 point percent to 1.5 percent respectively. The gender disparity has positively reduced from 0.099 in the 2001 to 0.065 in 2011 in all the cities with million plus population (Table 5.4). It is seen mostly in the Muslim dominated cities (Srinagar, Meerut, Jaipur and Gwalior) and tribal areas (Dhanbad, Asansol, Raipur and Durag-Bhilainagar). It is also found in Faridabad which shares the highest percent of slum population. The lowest gap is noted in the Kerala s million plus cities (Fig. 5.5). Broadly speaking, the gender gap of literacy is decrease in most of the million plus cities during 2001-2011. It is noticed lowest in south India rather than north India. The above change is a clear indication of the fact that gender gap in literacy is shrinking in the cities with million plus population. This rising trend of female literacy in the cities will have a greater consequence on the development of the modern society. In 2011, more than 70 percent million cities have recorded female literacy higher than 80%. By comparison, more than 96% million cities have recorded more than 80% male literacy. Spatial disparity in literacy within males is less than females. It is high in north India in comparison to south India (Fig. 5.5). The spatial disparity between million cities in total literacy rate and its configuration by gender has declined. The decade 2001-11 depicts a decline from 8.6 percent to 6.7 percent in total literacy rate and 6.1 percent to 5.6 percent for males and 11.0 percent to 8.6 percent for female during the correspondence period. There is more homogenisation in the country as far as literacy rate are concerned (Table 5.4). Conclusions Literacy is an important issue on world scale. Literature on literacy highlight that the gender gap is common in developing countries. Female illiteracy rates remain high where many girls drop out of school too early to acquire the skills they need to function as literate individuals. 78

The school enrolment and achievement are improved by a combination of incentives that stimulates female literacy. This includes; stipends, scholarships, free textbooks and learning materials, safe and affordable transportation schemes, and community awareness campaigns. Government and NGOs have more schools in backward areas or add boarding facilities to existing schools. This type of scheme can boost both enrolment and achievement for all underprivileged groups, including girls and children from backward areas. In Indian context, after Independence, there has been a remarkable growth in literacy rate in urban areas. The census conducted after Independence in 1951 had revealed that more than 1/3 rd of the urban population was literate. It had become more than 2/5 th by 2011. Male literacy in urban areas has steadily increased from 45.6 percent in 1951 to 90 percent in 2011. The corresponding figures for females were 22.3 percent in 1951 and 80 percent in 2011. However, the gender differentials in literacy have declined. In the current census, it is less than 10 percent points, which is the lowest of all times. There has been relatively greater progress in the female literacy rate rather than male literacy rate and the difference has been consistently narrowing down in million plus cities. The increase in literacy rate in males and females are in the order of 3.4 and 7.1 percent during 2001-11. Along with several literacy programmes like Operation Black Board, Minimum Level of Learning, Mahila Samakhya and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan the contribution of private sector in the field of education has been remarkable. Another contributing factor of expansion of literacy is state/central government policies like free education, girl schools and educational committees and acts. Cities with million plus population have shown enormous progress in the country as reflected in the average literacy figures (88 percent). It records a jump of 5 percent point in the last decade. The previous pattern of higher literacy rates in south Indian million plus cities than in north Indian ones persist. However, the million cities in north have also improved considerably in there literacy rate. Million plus cities which have low literacy rate, is usually due to excessive illiteracy among females rather than males. Spatial disparity in literacy within males is less than females and it is high in north India in comparison to south India. Even, the female literacy rate rose faster (7.1 point percent) than the male literacy rate (3.4 point percent) in the current census and also reduced the male female literacy gap. This change is a clear indication of the fact that gender gap in literacy is shrinking in the cities with million plus population. This rising trend of female literacy in the cities will have a greater consequence on the development of the modern society. The differences in literacy 79

rates of cities belonging to different regions are the outcome of various correlates. First, it is a notable feature that the literacy rates of million plus cities find a strong association with the literacy patterns of areas in which they are located. Second, the function of million plus cities is a strong factor in determining the literacy rate. Third, metropolitan areas which have higher proportion of Muslims and SC/ST population have relatively low literacy rates. Fourth, the higher literacy rates in south India s cities are attributed to a more sustained history of traditional learning, an early start in western education, and the more vigorous efforts of Christian missionaries in this area. The spatial disparity between million cities has declined by sex in 2001-11. 80