Mysore region shows an increase in literacy rate

Results of SSLC and PUC examination announced on Monday showed that Mysore stood 20th in SSLC results and 12th in PUC results. Despite efforts, SSLC ranking slipped to 20th from 12th place last year, while Mysore maintained its district-wise PUC ranking at 12th place.

Despite the hue and cry following the announcement of results, abstract data of census 2011, released on April 30, 2013 shows that the number of literates have been increasing in the district.

Literacy rate of Mysore, which was 63.48 per cent in 2001, increased by 9.08 per cent in a decade and is now at 72.56 per cent.

However, Mysore is ranked 18th in terms of literacy in the State. Dakshina Kannada and Bangalore Urban districts are placed first and second in the State respectively.

Hassan, Mandya and Chamarajanager, the neighbouring districts of Mysore too are ranked below 10. While Hassan is at 12th place with literacy rate of 75.89 per cent, Mandya is placed 20th in the State with 70.14 per cent literacy. Chamarajanagar, with 61.12 per cent literacy is placed 28th in the State, just above Raichur and Yadgir.

Interestingly, Mandya stood second in SSLC results in the State, Hassan stood fifth, while Chamarajanagar stood at 15th place.

Similar to girls faring well in SSLC and PUC examinations, the report states that females outnumber males in terms of absolute increase in literacy.

Decrease in illiterates

Data shows that the number of illiterates in Mysore district has decreased from 8,46,317 in 2001 to 7,43,296. This is due to the fact that 53,845 women in the district qualified as ‘literates’ during the decade, as against 49,176 men.

Number of illiterates decreased from 4,77,420 in 2001 to 3,90,701 in 2011 in Hassan district; 6,07,098 in 2001 to 4,91,581 in 2011 in Mandya district; and 4,17,825 in 2001 to 3,60,027 in 2011 in Chamarajanagar district.

Gender gap

While literacy among men in Mysore district stood at 78.44 per cent, it was 66.59 per cent among women. The difference in percentage of men and women literates was 11.85 per cent in the district.

Similar differences among men and women were observed in Hassan, Mandya and Chamarajanagar districts. While literacy rate among men was 83.55 per cent in Hassan, it was 68.3 per cent for women. While 78.14 percent men were literates in Mandya, only 62.10 per cent women were literates in the district. In Chamarajanagar, literacy among men was 67.88 per cent, while only 54.32 per cent of the women were literates in the district.

Nearing equity

Despite the gap in literacy among men and women, survey states that the gap in literacy rates among men and women in Mysore, Hassan, Mandya and Chamarajanagar has also decreased during the decade between 2001-2011.

According to the survey, a literate is defined as “a person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with understanding in any language.”