Skip to main content

Gujarat has 2.72% rural graduates, worse than 14 major Indian states: SECC data

 
One of the major “policy thrusts” adopted by the Government of India is known to be to follow a still unexplained “Gujarat model of education” for the country as a whole. Not only very little official information is available on what this “model” is and how top policy makers wish to pursue it, latest data of the Socio Economic and Caste Survey (SECC), released by the Centre suggest that Gujarat one of the worst performers at higher levels of learning.
SECC data, collected in 2012-13, but had to “wait” till they were checked and rechecked by different state agencies before they were released, are still incomplete, as they lack gender and caste breakup, especially for education. Yet, they do point out that just about 2.72 per cent of the rural people of Gujarat are graduates, which is one of the worst in the country.
In fact, there are as many as 14 out of 21 major Indian states which perform better than Gujarat on this score. And, only poorer states have a still lower proportion of graduates – West Bengal (2.67 per cent), Bihar (2.28 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (2.24 per cent), Assam (2.21 per cent), Jharkhand 2.14 per cent), and Chhattisgarh (2.12 per cent).
The situation is not very different for the rural population whose highest level of learning is up to higher secondary. In this category, Gujarat’s 4.77 per cent of rural population has attained higher secondary education, which is worse than 13 other states of India.
The states which have performed worse than Gujarat on this score are Madhya Pradesh (4.52 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (4.46 per cent), Jharkhand (3.88 per cent), Rajasthan (3.81 per cent), Bihar (3.63 per cent), Odisha (3.62 per cent), and West Bengal (3.46 per cent).
In fact, the SECC data suggest that, while at the primary level of learning, almost all those who studied in Gujarat may have passed out. However, things worsened as one reached higher levels of education. Thus, Gujarat has the sixth highest literate per cent of rural population, and the highest per cent of rural population which has primary level as the highest proportion of education.
However, as for the higher primary level, where the “compulsory” promotions taking place at the primary level finally end, Gujarat’s percentage of those with the highest level of education (eighth standard) is one of the worst. With 9.11 per cent, the only state which has a still lower proportion of higher primary (or middle) as the highest level of education is Bihar (8.81 per cent). 
While the data do not provide any gender or caste breakup, an earlier Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) suggested that in the age-group 11-14, Gujarat's 7.6 per cent of girls were found to be “not in school” as against the all-India average of 4.4 per cent. Further, in the age group 15-16, a whopping 30.2 per cent of girls were “not in school” as against the all-India average of nearly half as much, 17.3 per cent.
ASER survey by high profile NGO Pratham said that state-wise distribution of “not-in-school” girls in the age-group 11 to 14 that all states except two perform better than Gujarat – Rajasthan, which failed to send 12.1 per cent of girls, and Uttar Pradesh which failed to send 9.2 per cent of girls to school. Coming to the age-group 15-16, only one state, Rajasthan, performed worse than Gujarat, Rajasthan, which failed to send 31.4 per cent girls to school.

Comments

TRENDING

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.