Despite decades of progress, India’s literacy achievements are marred by deep-rooted disparities that continue to disrupt its social and economic development. While the national literacy rate has risen from 14% at independence in 1947 to 80.9% in 2023-24, millions continue to struggle with basic literacy skills. This is despite the fact that primary and secondary education in India is free and compulsory.
The Periodic Labour Force Survey indicates that India’s illiteracy rate stands at 26.3% which costs the country around US$53 billion annually in lost productivity and social development.
India’s education system is structured across 3 stages: primary, secondary, and higher education with the government and private sector collaborating to provide free and compulsory education at primary and secondary levels, as per the Right to Education Act 2009 which aims to universalize access to basic education. However, despite this mandatory education for children aged 6-14, India still struggles with high illiteracy rates.
Gender and regional gaps
The overall numbers conceal troubling inequalities. Literacy among men stands at 87.2%, whereas women lag behind at 74.5%. Urban areas fare significantly better, with a literacy rate of 88.9%, compared to 77.5% in rural areas.
In 2021-22, India’s school enrolment was 265.2 million, with boys accounting for 52% and girls for 48%. By 2023-24, enrolment had decreased to 248 million, a drop of 17.2 million students. Financial constraints, household responsibilities, and child marriage are among the reasons for the dropouts that affect both boys and girls.
Infrastructure and staff shortfalls widen the divide
Education quality in rural areas is undermined by severe teacher shortages and poor digital access. India has over 1 million teacher vacancies, with 60% of these being in rural schools. Many institutions often rely on single teacher. Moreover, approximately 69% of private school teachers and many government school teachers lack secure job contracts which leads to job insecurity.
Underqualified teachers also pose a challenge as 7.7% of educators in pre-primary, 4.6% in primary, and 3.3% in upper-primary schools fail to meet the minimum qualification standards.
The digital divide further reinforces educational inequalities between rural and urban communities. Only 18.47% of schools in rural areas have internet access, whereas in urban areas this figure is 47.29%. Similarly, only 44.9% of rural schools benefit from digital infrastructure as opposed to 68.7% of urban schools.
Regional inequality and social exclusion
Educational disparities are particularly acute in regions that have large rural and marginalized communities with states such as Bihar (74.3%), Madhya Pradesh (75.2%), and Rajasthan (75.8%) reporting some of the lowest literacy rates. Among the 5+ age group, these states fare even worse, with rates as low as 73.2%. Many of these areas face systemic discrimination, limited opportunities, and poverty, which perpetuate exclusion and exploitation.
See also: Has India actually turned the tide on poverty?
Policy efforts and implementation gap
Through initiatives such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), the Indian government is seeking to address gender discrimination in education. Furthermore, in 2020, the Indian government introduced the National Education Policy to bridge educational disparities. This policy aims to make education more inclusive, culturally rooted, and aligned with modern skills. However, the gap between policy and on-the-ground implementation continues to limit the impact of such reforms.
