EDUCATION AND CULTURE

LITERACY

The state of literacy prevailing in the district is an indicator of the spread of education therein. Percentage of literacy in the district for total, males and females for the eight census years since 1901 is given below:-

The literacy percentage has increased more than five times during the last sixty years. However, substantial improvement has taken place only since 1931. Particularly female literacy showed considerable rise from 1.35 per cent in 1931 to 6.27 per cent in 1941. There was a fall in the literacy rate in 1951, because enumerators in the district were apparently more rigorous than in most other areas in returning school children and others as illiterate rather than literate. The introduction of the scheme of compulsory education in 1947 might have helped to raise the level of literacy in the decade 1951-1961. The level of literacy in Sholapur district, as revealed from 1961 Census, is 25 per cent as compared to 29.2 per cent in the Pune division and about 30 per cent in the State of Maharashtra as a whole. The growth of literacy during the decade 1951-1961 in this district is appreciable being to the extent of 10 per cent over that of the previous decade. The improvement in literacy in the district has, however, to be viewed in the context of chronic scarcity conditions prevailing over a large part of the district and the consequent uncertainty of living conditions.

The highest literacy rates were concentrated in a small area roundabout Sholapur town and also found in the central and eastern regions of Barshi taluka and northern and central portions of Pandharpur taluka. The lowest rates were found in the southern zone comprising Sangola, Mangalwedha and parts of Mohol, Sholapur and Akkalkot talukas, which partly covers the scarcity zone in the district. Within the district, North Sholapur taluka has the highest literacy for males and females. In rural areas, Barshi taluka has the highest literacy rates for total and male population while Malshiras has the highest literacy for females. In urban areas, Pandharpur has the highest literacy rates for total, males and females. The district literacy average was lower than the State average for total, males and females in both rural and urban areas.

Table No. 3 shows the age-wise literate and illiterate persons in the district for the years 1911, 1921 and 1931.

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

The percentage of literates by age-groups for the district total, rural and urban areas is shown in table No. 4 as per 1961 census.

It can be seen that average literacy rates were high in the age-groups 15-34 and 5-14 both for males and females.

Table No. 5 shows the educational level in the district along with population figures recorded by the 1961 Census.

The scheduled castes are much behind in literacy than the general population of the district. They are, however, trying to cover the gap. Among the major groups of the scheduled castes, ' Mangs' are the most depressed while ' Dhors' are found to be the most advanced in the district.

The percentage of backward class population to the total population in the year 1951 was 22.41. The percentage of literacy among the backward classes was however low, viz., 13.39 for males and 1.38 for females. The percentage of literacy for all scheduled castes as per 1961 Census is shown below:-

The scheduled tribes as a group do not seem to have made much progress in literacy and education inspite of the various educational facilities available to them. Rathawa appears to be the most depressed group in this respect.

Table No. 6 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.

The district ranks 18th in respect of literacy in the State and 6th in the Pune division. According to the 1971 Census 34 per cent are literates in the district as against 39 per cent in the State. The literacy in the rural areas of the district is also low, viz., 28.16 per cent as against 30.63 per cent for the State of Maharashtra. These literacy rates are low in all the talukas except North Sholapur. Relatively low literacy rates are: Akkalkot 20 per cent, South Sholapur 29 per cent, Mangalwedha 25 per cent, Sangola 26 per cent, Malshiras 28 per cent and Karmala 29 per cent.

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