The index includes 5 pillars comprising 41 indicators on the basis of which the states have been ranked for literacy among children. Source: Shutterstock
West Bengal has topped the ‘large states’ category in the Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy — an indicator of literacy among children below 10 years.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee took to Twitter to share the news. “Great news for West Bengal! We have secured the top rank among larger states on the 'Foundational Literacy & Numeracy Index'. I congratulate all teachers, guardians & members of our Education Department for this outstanding achievement!” she wrote.
The Foundational Literacy Index splits regions into four categories— large states, small states, Northeast and union territories.
In the ‘small states’ category, Kerala has bagged the first position while Jharkhand was adjudged the worst performer on the index.
In the 'large states' category, Bihar is at the bottom.
Among union territories and Northeastern states, Lakshadweep and Mizoram are the top-scoring regions, respectively. Ladakh is at the bottom of the list of UTs, while Arunachal Pradesh is at the bottom of the Northeast category.
The report on the 'Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy' was made by the Institute for Competitiveness and released by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) chairman, Bibek Debroy. “The top-scoring regions are Kerala (67.95) and West Bengal (58.95) in small and large states, respectively,” the EAC-PM said in a statement.
“More than 50 per cent of the states have scored below the national average, i.e. 28.05, the lowest across all pillars,” it added.
The ‘Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy’ will help establish an understanding of the overall state of foundational learning across children aged below 10 years in the Indian states and UTs.
The Foundational Literacy Index 2021 includes 5 pillars comprising 41 indicators on the basis of which the states have been ranked for literacy among children. The five pillars are Access to Education, Educational Infrastructure, Basic Health, Governance and Learning Outcomes.