The Gazetteers Department

Dissemination of literacy and education at a fast pace is vital for social improvement and economic development of a country. In a democratic country like ours, this is even more true since in order that a common man can play his role in this development, it is necessary that he understands the significance of various schemes and programmes and his responsibilities and privileges.

The district has made very rapid progress in literacy and education during the last thirty years or so. The percentage of literacy in the district for total males and females for the Census years since 1901 is given below.

Year	Total	Males	Females
1901	4.67	8.93	0.43
1911	4.65	8.59	0.65
1921	6.40	11.21	1.49
1931	6.02	10.60	1.31
1941	13.87	22.48	5.01
1951	18.80	29.40	7.90
1961	26.45	39.36	13.03
1971	36.23	48.97	22.91

The literacy percentage has increased more than three times during the last thirty years. The improvement has been very substantial in the decades 1931-41 and 1961-71. Female literacy has, however, shown progress only during the decade 1951-61. The scheme of compulsory primary education introduced by the State Government in 1947 is one of the contributory factors leading to the remarkable improvement in education in the district.

The literacy rates in the district are a little higher than the averages for the State both for rural and urban areas. The district average for total population, however, is much lower than the State average because of the larger proportion of rural population in the district.

As per the 1961 census the literacy is highest in the region round about Ahmadnagar city. Next highest literacy rates are found in the central portion running north to south comprising parts of Ahmadnagar. Rahuri, Parner and Shrirampur talukas. Literacy rates drop down beyond these two regions as we go west or east. They are lowest in the hilly regions of Akola taluka, which shows 18.47 per cent, and the parts of Shevgaon and Pathardi talukas. Within the district, Ahmadnagar taluka has the highest literacy for total population. But Shrirampur taluka has the highest literacy for rural areas, for total population and for males, while Rahuri has the highest literacy rates for females. For urban areas also, Ahmadnagar taluka which includes Ahmadnagar city naturally has the highest literacy rates for total, males and females.

The age-wise number of literates in the district for the years 1911, 1921 and 1931 is shown in the Table No. 2.

The taluka-wise figures of literates for the years 1901, 1911 and 1921 are shown in the Table No. 3.

The progress of education since 1901 to 1931 is shown in the following statement. The figures show the number of literate persons per mille.

(1) AGE-GROUP 10-15

Years	Males				Females
	1931	1921	1911	1901	1931	1921	1911	1901
	139	147	113	115	16	19	8	5

(2) AGE-GROUP 15-20

Years	Males				Females
	1931	1921	1911	1901	1931	1921	1911	1901
	181	184	132	126	27	34	17	8

(3) AGE-GROUP 20 AND OVER

Years	Males				Females
	1931	1921	1911	1901	1931	1921	1911	1901
	141	151	116	121	12	15	6	4

The position of literacy in the years 1941 and 1951 is given in Table No. 4.

Table No. 5 shows the educational level in the district as per 1961 Census.

Table No. 6 shows the literacy percentages for males and females in rural and urban areas of the district in 1961.

Male literacy rates are the highest in age-group of 15-34 and those for females are highest in the age-group of 5-14. This indicates that female literacy has started improving since the introduction of the compulsory primary education scheme in the district.

Both males and females of the scheduled castes appear to have come out of their age-long backwardness in education. They appear to be taking full advantage of the educational facilities and concessions available to them in the district and the gap between them and the district average is now narrowed down considerably.

The following statement shows the percentage of backward class population and literacy among them in the year 1951:—

Percentage of backward class population to total population	Percentage of literacy among the backward classes
Percentage of backward class population to total population	Persons	Males	Females
27.02	9.56	16.68	2.34

TABLE No, 1—NUMBER OF INSTITUTIONS AND STUDENTS IN AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT FROM

1893-94 TO 1920-21

Year	Primary Schools			High Schools				Middle Schools* (English)
	Institutions	Pupils		Institutions	Pupils		Institutions	Pupils
	Institutions	Boys	Girls	Institutions	Boys	Girls	Institutions	Boys	Girls
1893-94	404	15,899	1,224	2	346	--	1	25	--
1895-96	366	15,727	1,280	3	437	--	2	68	--
1900-01	258	16,539	1,910	3	407	--	1	51	--
1905-06	482	17,814	3,490	3	582	--	1	13	10
1910-11	555	21,953	4,323	3	613	--	1	17	11
1915-16	657	27,374	2,896	4	753	103	4	654	--
1920-21	717	30,492	3,589	5	1,010	103	6	380	85

continued..

Year	Middle Schoolst† (Vernacular)				Advanced			Elementary
	Institutions	Pupils		Institutions	Pupils		Institutions	Pupils
	Institutions	Boys	Girls	Institutions	Boys	Girls	Institutions	Boys	Girls
1893-94	4	321	65	--	--	--	38	572	12
1895-96	3	283	59	3	63	5	52	1,305	78
1900-01	3	267	66	5	89	52	21	520	--
1905-06	5	373	201	1	20	14	16	447	--
1910-11	5	532	165	--	--	--	17	469	--
1915-16	--	--	--	--	--	--	6	98	--
1920-21	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--

* Schools teaching through the medium of English.

† Schools teaching through the medium of vernacular languages.

TABLE No, 2—AGE-WISE NUMBER OF LITERATES IN AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT IN 1911, 1921 AND 1931.

District/Age-group	Population
	Total			Literate			Illiterate
	Persons	Males	Females	Persons	Males	Females	Persons	Males	Females
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)
EDUCATION BY AGE IN AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT IN 1911
Ahmadnagar—Total	9,45,305	4,76,306	4,68,999	43,955	40,910	3,045	9,01,350	4,35,396	4,65,954
0-10	2,58,190	1,25,430	1,32,760	1,387	1,161	226	2,56,803	1,24,269	1,32,534
10-15	97,292	52,872	44,420	5,197	4,582	615	92,095	48,290	43,805
15-20	71,398	35,407	35,991	5,267	4,662	605	66,131	30,745	35,386
20 and over	5,18,425	2,62,597	2,55,828	32,104	30,505	1,599	4,86,321	2,32,092	2,54,229
EDUCATION BY AGE IN AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT IN 1921
Ahmadnagar—Total	7,31,552	3,69,629	3,61,923	46,840	41,431	5,409	6,84,712	3,28,198	3,56,514
0-10	2,00,750	97,961	1,02,789	2,231	1,623	608	1,98,519	96,338	1,02,181
10-15	87,758	47,870	39,888	6,464	5,233	1,231	81,294	42,637	38,657
15-20	48,930	25,132	23,798	5,448	4,633	815	43,482	20,499	22,983
20 and over	3,94,114	1,98,666	1,95.448	32,697	29,942	2,755	3,61,417	1,68,724	1,92,693
EDUCATION BY AGE IN AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT IN 1931
Ahmadnagar—Total	9,88,206	5,01,186	4.87,020	59,475	53,105	6,370	9,28,731	4.48.081	4,80,650
0-5	1,58,405	77,103	81,302	--	--	--	1,58.405	77,103	81,302
5-10	1,25,584	64,502	61,082	4,049	3,249	800	1,21,535	61,253	60,282
10-15	1,08,762	56,142	52,620	6,832	5,557	1,275	1,01,930	50,585	51,345
15-20	84,709	40,360	44.349	8,527	7,319	1,208	76,182	33.041	43,141
20 and over	5,10,746	2,63,079	2.47,667	40,007	36,080	3,087	4,70,679	2,26,099	2,44,580

TABLE No 3 —TALUKA-WISE PROPORTION or LITERATES IN AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT IN 1901. 1911 AND 1921

Taluka/Petha	Year	Population			Literate			Percentage of literates to total population
Taluka/Petha	Year	Total	Males	Females	Total	Males	Females	Total	Males	Females
Akola	1901	70,566	35,479	35,087	1,557	1,524	33	1	4	1
	1911	75,949	37,799	38,150	1,625	1,553	82	2	4	2
	1921	68,608	34,216	34,392	1,821	1,606	215	3	5	0.1
Jamkhed	1901	64,258	31,862	32,396	2,997	2,963	34	5	9	0.1
	1911	78,967	39,770	39,197	3,107	3,026	81	4	8	0.2
	1921	4,1,148	21,604	21,544	2,026	1,979	81	5	9	4
Karjat	1901	35,619	17,802	17,817	1,350	1,321	29	4	8	0.2
	1911	45,127	22,965	22,162	1,560	1,521	39	3	7	0.7
	1921	26,907	13,595	13,312	1,252	1,185	67	5	9	1
Kopargaon	1901	73,539	36,514	37,025	3,175	3,119	56	4	9	0.2
	1911	91,490	45,780	45,710	3,434	3,290	144	4	2	0.3
	1921	1,00,635	51,008	49,627	4,835	4,407	338	5	9	1
Ahmadnagar	1901	1,28,694	64,185	63,900	10,139	9,154	985	8	14	2
	1911	1,29,104	66,554	62,555	12,686	11,094	1,592	10	17	3
	1921	1,14,873	59,753	55,120	14,913	12,513	2,400	13	21	4

continued..

Nevasa	1901	65,503	32,795	32,708	3,574	3,360	214	5	10	1
	1911	90,565	45,440	45,125	4,181	3,838	343	5	8	0.8
	1921	51,228	25,532	25,696	4,385	3,355	1,030	9	13	4
Parner	1901	72,617	36,161	36,456	2,344	2,283	61	3	6	0.2
	1911	82,342	41,084	41,258	3,082	2,958	124	4	7	0.3
	1921	67,464	33,362	34,102	2,178	2,024	154	3	6	4
Rahuri	1901	83,494	41,490	42,004	4,038	3,839	199	5	9	0.5
	1911	77,827	39,068	38,759	4,718	4,364	354	6	11	0.9
	1921	66,243	33,403	32,840	4,725	4,341	384	7	13	1
Sangamner	1901	90,381	45,302	45,079	3,584	3,529	55	4	8	0.1
	1911	97,745	48,960	48,785	3,674	3,560	114	4	7	0.2
	1921	71,830	35,890	35,940	4,071	3,734	337	6	10	1
Shevgaon	1901	92,084	45,948	46,436	4,059	3,986	73	4	9	0.2
	1911	1,10,457	55,469	54,988	3,741	3,624	117	3	7	0.2
	1921	41,164	20,428	20,736	2,726	2,542	184	7	12	1
Shrigonda	1901	61,240	30,230	31,010	2,310	2,246	64	4	7	0.2
	1911	65,727	33,417	32,310	2,137	2,082	55	3	6	0.2
	1921	47,080	24,534	22,546	2,116	1,980	136	4	8	1
Pathardi Petha	1901	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
	1911	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
	1921	32,372	16,304	16,068	1,758	1,675	83	5	10	1

TABLE No. 4—PROGRESS OF LITERACY [Source.—Census of India, 1951, Vol. IV, Bombay, Saurashtra and Kutch, Part I p. 329.] IN AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT IN 1941 AND 1951

Number of literate males per 1,000 males
Ages	5-9	5-9	5-14	5-14	5 and	5 and	15 and
--	on	on	on	on	upwards	upwards	upwards
Year	1st	1st	1st	1st.	1st	1st	1st
--	March	March	March	March	March	March	March
--	1951	1941	1951	1941	1951	1941	1951
Rural	171	--	286	--	270	--	263
Urban	357	--	561	--	630	--	656
Total	195	173	323	236	326	250	327

Number of literate females per 1,000 females
Ages	5-9	5-9	5-14	5-14	5 and	5 and	15 and
--	on	on	on	on	upwards	upwards	upwards
Year	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
--	March	March	March	March	March	March	March
--	1951	1941	1951	1941	1951	1941	1951
Rural	73	--	88	--	53	--	36
Urban	254	--	373	--	264	--	218
Total	97	64	126	83	84	54	64

TABLE No. 5—EDUCATIONAL LEVEL AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT, 1961

Particulars	Total number of:
Particulars	Males	Females
Total population	99,088	88,227
Illiterates	35,712	55,844
Literates without educational level	24,163	17,000
Educational levels—	--	--
Primary	30,101	13,580
Secondary	7,615	1,563
Technical diploma not equal to degree	123	2
Non-technical diploma not equal to degree	30	12
University degree other than technical degree	936	139
Technical degree—
Engineering	80	--
Medicine	143	34
Agriculture	29	--
Veterinary	4	--
Technology	1	--
Teaching	111	51
Others	40	2

TABLE No. 6—TALUKA-WISE LITERACY PERCENTAGES IN AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT IN 1961

Taluka	Total			Rural			Urban
Taluka	Persons	Males	Females	Persons	Males	Females	Persons	Males	Females
Kopargaon	27.43	40.28	13.80	25.12	37.93	11.62	44.28	57.04	30.13
Akola	18.47	30.10	7.07	18.47	30.10	7.07	--	--	--
Sangamner	24.19	37.61	10.58	20.13	33.20	7.04	50.87	65.27	35.03
Shrirampur	28.74	41.46	15.04	26.62	39.45	12.90	43.22	54.86	30.08
Rahuri	25.49	38.00	12.37	25.49	38.00	21.37	--	--	--
Newasa	25.71	39.18	11.85	25.71	39.18	11.85	--	--	--
Shevgaon	23.16	36.56	9.43	23.16	36.56	9.43	--	--	--
Parner	24.05	38.03	10.19	24.05	38 03	10.19	--	--	--
Ahmadnagar	38.97	52.72	24.25	24.78	38.76	10.57	54.05	66.84	39.61
Pathardi	21.80	34.34	8.91	21.80	34.34	8.91	--	--	--
Shrigonda	25.12	37.45	12.09	25.12	37.45	12.09	--	--	--
Karjat	21.23	31.96	9.93	21.23	31.96	9.93	--	--	--
Jamkhed	22.12	34 01	9.78	22.12	34.01	9.78	--	--	--

The position of literacy among the scheduled castes is improving slowly as can be seen from the following statement which shows the literacy percentages for males and females in urban and rural areas of the district in 1961:—

	Rural			Urban
	Total	Males	Females	Total	Males	Females
District average	23.54	36.33	10.36	51.12	63.96	36.70
All scheduled castes	17.05	28.17	5.67	27.73	40.64	13.58

The scheduled tribes are very much behind in literacy and education. Literacy among them in rural areas was as low as 9.43 per cent and 20.90 per cent in urban areas as against the respective average literacy rates of 23.54 per cent and 51.12 per cent for the district. Similarly female literacy in the rural areas appears to be negligible in their case.

Table No. 7 shows the distribution of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes population by sex and educational levels in urban and rural areas in the district according to 1961 Census.

TABLE No. 7—EDUCATION AMONG SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES IN AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT, 1961

Particulars	Scheduled Castes				Scheduled Tribes
Particulars	Urban areas		Rural areas		Urban areas		Rural areas
	Males	Females	Males	Females	Males	Females	Males	Females
Total population	7,018	6,400	72,854	77,228	620	557	54,412	54,218
Llliterate	4,166	5,531	52,330	67,187	420	551	45,889	52,519
Literate (without educational level).	1,613	549	15,026	3,402	78	30	6,614	1,614
Educational level—	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
Primary	1,155	311	5,347	632	116	16	1,888	102
Secondary	79	8	150	7	5	--	21	3
Technical diploma not equal to degree.	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
Non-technical diploma not equal to degree.	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
University degree other than technical degree.	5	1	--	--	1	--	--	--
Technical degree	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--

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