Orissa has the highest percentage of out-of-school rural children in the country
According to the Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2007 released by Pratham, Orissa tops the list of states with 8% out-of-school children in the 6-14 age group in rural areas. This number is almost double the percentage all over India (4.2%). The good news is that the percentage has gone down from 9.1% in 2006 to 8.0% in 2007. Rajasthan and Bihar, however, have reduced the percentage from over 10% in 2006 to 6.5% in 2007.
The following table shows the numbers for the 30 districts in Orissa. Some of the numbers are truly alarming.
January 17th, 2008