In a reply to a question asked by multiple MPs in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Upendra Kushwaha, has said that funds released for the Saakshar Bharat Mission have gone down considerably in the past three years.
For 2015-16, the central government released Rs 332 crore which came down to Rs 206 crore in 2016-17. In 2017-18, it further reduced to Rs 191 crore.
The data provided by the minister reveals that in these years several states have not been provided with any fund for the programme. No amounts were released to Maharashtra and Punjab between 2015-2018. The literacy rates in the states are 82.3 and 75.8 respectively.
Gujarat, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand did not receive any funds for two consecutive years between 2016-2018. It is notable that 5 of these 7 states are from the north-eastern region.
Similarly, Rajasthan and Haryana did not receive any fund in 2015-2016. Rajasthan has the second lowest female literacy rate in the country at 52.12, second only to Bihar’s 51.5. Bihar also was not given any funds in 2017-2018. Ironically, the Saakshar Bharat mission was launched specifically to target literacy among women.
The government has discontinued the Saakshar Bharat programme with effect from April 1, 2018. Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, replying to a question by Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, said that the scheme would be replaced with another adult literacy programme.
According to Census 2011, India’s literacy rate is 74.04, and the female literacy rate is a mere 65.46. With such dismal literacy figures, it is difficult to understand why “Saakshar Bharat” features so low on the government’s priority.