The literacy rate in Bangladesh has increased by 30.6 percent in the last 17 years and currently stands at 75.6 percent. By definition, once a person could write his name, he was considered literate. But nowadays, a person who knows how to sign in his own language and can read simple and short sentences, write simple and short sentences and do simple calculations in daily life is considered to have sign knowledge.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, the literacy rate is currently 75.6 percent. Men are ahead of women in literacy statistics. Women are lagging behind. 25.34 percent of people are illiterate.
Last year, on International Literacy Day, the Minister of State for Primary and Mass Education. Zakir Hossain informed that the literacy rate in the country is 75.6 percent, which was 74.7 percent in 2020. It was about 1 percent higher than the previous year.
It should be noted that illiteracy will be eradicated from the country by 2014 as announced by Awami League in the 2008 election manifesto. In 2010, the government set a target of ensuring 100% literacy within the specified period. But even after 8 years have passed after the stipulated period, 25.34 percent of people are still illiterate in the country. That is, 4 crores 18 lacks 51 thousand 193 people are illiterate out of the total population.
According to this recent report of BBS, currently, men are ahead of women in the literacy rate of the country. Currently, the male literacy rate is 76.56 percent while the female literacy rate is 72.82 percent. Bangladesh currently has a total population of 16 crores 51 lacks 58 thousand 616 people. Among them, the number of men is 8 crore 17 lakh 12 thousand 824 people, the number of women is 8 crore 33 lakh 47 thousand 206 people and the population of the third gender is 12 thousand 629 people.
Note that the literacy rate in the country was 51.77 percent in the 2011 census. Although the desired target has not been achieved, the literacy rate has increased by a total of 23.89 percent in the last 11 years.
As always seen, the literacy rate is higher in urban areas than in rural areas. According to the census and household census, the total literacy rate of rural areas is 71.56 percent. Among them, the male literacy rate is 73.29 percent, the female literacy rate is 69.93 percent and the transgender population is 51.97 percent. Apart from this, the total literacy rate in urban areas is 81.28 percent. Among them, the male literacy rate is 83.18 percent, the female literacy rate is 79.30 percent, and the Hijra community literacy rate is 55.28 percent. The difference in literacy between urban and rural areas is about 4 percent as before.
The lowest rate of literacy is in the Mymensingh division, 67.09 percent, and the highest rate is in the Dhaka division, 78.09 percent. Division-wise analysis showed that in 2011, the Dhaka division left behind the Barisal division which was leading in literacy. Sylhet division is the lowest in literacy, and Mymensingh division has fallen behind.
District-wise review shows that Pirojpur has the highest literacy rate. The literacy rate in this district is more than 85 percent. And Jamalpur district is the most backward where the literacy rate is 61.53 percent.
According to Mustafizur Rahman, deputy director of Morcha Ganasaksharta Abhiyan, a non-governmental organization that works on education literacy, the current rate of international literacy in the world is 86.6 percent. From which we are far behind. The government is trying but the reasons for the failure to achieve the target should be investigated and the government should increase investment in education to achieve the target through a strategic plan. Besides, the project of bringing back students who have dropped out at the primary and secondary levels should be taken up and properly implemented.
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