Literacy High In Vananchal

Contrary to popular perception, a comparison of district-wise socio-economic indicators in Bihar shows that the proposed state of Vananchal does better than the rest of Bihar in terms of education and health.

Vananchal comprises 18 districts, covering around 46 per cent of the total area and 25 per cent of the population of Bihar. The area is inhabited by 60.44 lakh out of the total of 66.17 lakh tribals inhabiting the entire state. Around 27.67 per cent of the population in this area is tribal.

In terms of provision of minimum needs and development indices, like literacy, public health, irrigation, water supply, electrification and roads, the Vananchal area is perceived as less developed than the rest of Bihar. However, as district-wise data from the National Council of Applied Economic Rese-arch show, the literacy rate in the 18 districts of Vananchal is 39.3 per cent compared with 36.5 per cent for the remaining districts of Bihar. The average literacy rate for the whole state is 38.48 per cent, according to the 1991 data.

 

Female literacy in urban areas is also much higher in the Vananchal area, with a figure of 59.9 per cent against 48.4 per cent for the rest of the state.

In terms of health indicators also, the proposed state does better than the rest of Bihar. There are three primary health centres per lakh of population in the Vananchal area compared with 2.3 in the northern part of Bihar. Vananchal has 23 secondary health centres per lakh compared to 16 for the northern part, and 18 PMS per lakh compared to 8 per lakh of population in the north.

Leading The Field

Total literacy Rural Urban PHC Doctors

(In %) (per lakh) (per lakh)

Bihar 38.48 33.83 67.89 2.63 5.16

Vananchai 39.33 33.06 71.05 3.03 9.62

Rest of Bihar 36.52 33.77 61.53 2.37 5.4