Synopsis
On March 10, the Ministry of Minority Affairs reported that the literacy rate for Muslims aged 7 and above is 79.5%, while the overall rate for all religions is 80.9%. This reflects ongoing efforts to enhance educational empowerment within minority communities.Key Takeaways
- Muslim literacy rate: 79.5% for ages 7+
- Overall literacy rate: 80.9% for all religions
- Government initiatives focus on educational empowerment
- 30% scholarships reserved for girls from minority communities
- Post-Matric schemes initiated since 2007
New Delhi, March 10 (NationPress) According to the Annual Report from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for the year 2023-24, the literacy rate among Muslims stands at 79.5 per cent for individuals aged 7 years and older. In comparison, the overall literacy rate for all religious groups in the same age bracket is 80.9 per cent, as reported in Parliament on Monday.
Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju stated in a response in the Rajya Sabha that the government is implementing a comprehensive strategy aimed at the advancement of minority communities, with a particular emphasis on educational empowerment, infrastructure development, economic empowerment, addressing specific needs, and enhancing minority institutions.
He noted that the Ministry is responsible for creating policies, schemes, and programs aimed at the welfare and socio-economic progress of six officially recognized minority communities: Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Muslims, Parsis, and Sikhs.
The Minister previously shared statistics highlighting the growth in literacy rates among Muslims over the last thirty years, showcasing a significant reduction in the literacy gap between Muslims and followers of other religions.
According to data from the 2001 Census, the literacy rate for Muslims aged 7 years and older was 59.1 per cent, while the national literacy rate for the same age group was 64.8 per cent.
By the 2011 Census, the literacy rate among Muslims in that age group had risen to 68.5 per cent, compared to the all-India literacy rate of 73 per cent.
This indicates an increase of 9.4 percentage points in the literacy rate among Muslims from the 2001 Census to the 2011 Census, as noted by the Minister.
Providing details about various educational initiatives for minority communities in Odisha, the Minister mentioned that provisional data for the academic year 2022-23 showed that Pre-Matric scholarships were awarded to 700 students, compared to 25,620 beneficiaries in 2021-22.
The count of Post-Matric scholarships granted in Odisha for 2022-23 was 779, whereas 4,030 Post-Matric scholarships were distributed in 2021-22.
The Minister emphasized that the government has taken numerous measures to promote education among children from minority communities nationwide for their educational and economic empowerment, leading to various scholarship schemes aimed at reducing dropout rates.
In all of these initiatives, 30 per cent of the scholarships have been designated for female students from minority backgrounds.
The programs available for minority community students include the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme, which was approved in January 2008 for Class 9 and remained in effect until 2021-22.
A Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme was initiated in November 2007 for students from Class 9 to Ph.D., and a Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship Scheme was launched in 2007 for Technical and Professional Courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
