Q. Read the passage given below.
Education is the most powerful tool which can lead to positive changes in different sectors like economic development, improvement in health conditions, better environment, etc. School education lays the foundation stone for the child’s future. An assessment of the level of education in India is important while examining the conditions of children in India.
The literacy rate is one of the most important indicators of social development and is closely related to the socio-economic growth of any country. The literacy rate of the population is defined as ‘the percentage of literates to the total population age 7 years and above’. The literacy rate in India has been growing consistently over the years and stands at 73% as per the 2011 census. The female literacy rate (64.6%) is still much lower than the male literacy rate (80.9%). However, the increase in literacy rate is comparatively higher in the case of females in all age groups. Thus, the gender gap in literacy rate is gradually decreasing over the years and has come down from 21.6% in 2001 to 16.3% in 2011. However, the literacy rate among children (considering the age group 7-18 years) stands at 88.3%, and the gender gap observed for this age group was 2.9 percentage points in 2011. The percentage of literate by age and sex is tabulated as follows:
| Years |
Age Group |
7-9 |
10-14 |
15-19 |
All ages |
7 & above |
| 1991 |
Male |
62.6 |
77.0 |
75.3 |
52.7 |
64.0 |
| |
Female |
51.0 |
59.7 |
54.9 |
32.2 |
39.0 |
| |
Person |
56.9 |
68.8 |
65.8 |
42.8 |
52.0 |
| 2001 |
Male |
74.1 |
86.0 |
85.0 |
63.2 |
75.3 |
| |
Female |
67.7 |
77.0 |
72.7 |
45.2 |
53.7 |
| |
Person |
71.0 |
81.7 |
79.3 |
54.5 |
64.9 |
| 2011 |
Male |
83.2 |
92.2 |
91.2 |
69.8 |
80.9 |
| |
Female |
81.2 |
90.0 |
86.2 |
56.0 |
64.6 |
| |
Person |
82.2 |
91.1 |
88.8 |
63.1 |
73.0 |
The highest recorded literacy rate among the age group 7-19 years is in Kerala (97.9%) and the lowest in Arunachal Pradesh (78.8%) as per census 2011. Many States have achieved above 95% literacy rate for the population for the age group 7-19 years whereas, Arunachal Pradesh and Bihar have recorded literacy rates below 80% also.
Obtaining quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives and their sustainable development. Major progress has been made towards enhancing access to education at all levels and improving enrolment rates in schools, particularly for girls. Basic literacy skills have improved tremendously, yet further efforts are needed to make even greater strides for achieving universal education goals. India has achieved equality in primary education between girls and boys, but still, there is much more to be achieved regarding quality and coverage at all levels of education.
(Source: http://mospi.nic.in)
Based on your understanding of the passage, attempt the questions that follow.
Select the option that gives the correct meaning of the following statement.
The female literacy rate for the age group of 15-19 years in 2001 accounted for the reduction in the gender gap in literacy rate.
[0.8 mark]
