The Problem with India’s Literacy Surveys: Numbers Without Real Learning
- Anurag Das
- Sep 8
- 2 min read
Today is World Literacy Day. Literacy can be expressed as the ability to read, write, and be able to have a voice. The way to literacy is through the education system. And in India, the education system is still a colonial form of education. The condition of education in our country is as bad as it can be. So the question arises, what constitutes the literacy rates? The current literacy rate of India is 76.32 per cent. And if we look at state-wise data of literacy rates of states in India, Mizoram is the most literate state at 98.2 per cent, followed by Lakshadweep, Tripura, Kerala, Goa, and so on.[2]
Now, to calculate these rates, the National Statistics Office (NSO) conducts National Sample Surveys of several sample groups. Data on the educational levels of all members of a particular sample household is collected. One member of the household - usually the head of the household, answers the questions. The entire enquiry of educational qualification happens verbally; mostly only the said household member answers all the questions. The enumerator does not conduct a test but must make a judgment herself - the instructions state that "persons who are not able to read and write a simple message with understanding in at least one language are to be considered illiterate," and it is upon the enumerator to satisfy herself of the accuracy of the response. So, truthfulness is often based solely on verbal statements. Thus, it fails to capture the educational prowess of the household members.[1]
It is thus apparent that these surveys hardly capture the real scenario of the quality of education in our country. So, my question is, what is the use of such a survey which hardly tells anything about the quality of education people go through? Are they capable of earning their own bread? Are they fit to survive in this competitive world?
The literacy rates are just flaunting tags. They can be used to understand only the worst conditions of education. I mean, they can only be used to understand the penetration of education or the willingness of a society to go through the academic process. Other than that, they have no use. When we are a country with a $4.19 trillion economy, should not our goal be to improve the quality of education? But hardly anything successful is done on this end. We may eulogise as much as we want about the scientific achievements in ancient times, but setting up the system requires much more effort and maturity.
Moreover, investing more and more in a broken education system seems like a waste of resources to me. The whole process of learning in India has to be revamped; the entire education system has to be looked at from a different angle altogether. Only then can literacy rates be a compliment. When we are able to take pride in our per capita income and the success of the education system, only then will these percentages matter. Otherwise, these are just numbers.
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