DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand has scripted a rare success story in education. The state has crossed the 95% literacy benchmark and has been declared a “fully literate state” by the Cabinet on Thursday, marking one of the fastest literacy jumps recorded in the country.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami chaired the Cabinet meeting that approved the proposal. The move came after the state’s literacy rate climbed from 83.8% in 2023-24 to 98.7% in 2025, a rise of 14.9 percentage points in just two years.
Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat called the achievement a result of collective effort.
“The literacy rate was 83.8 per cent in 2023-24. In 2025, it has reached 98.7 per cent,” Rawat told TNIE.
“With this, Uttarakhand joins a select group of states that have achieved such a big leap in literacy in a short time. We believe this success is the outcome of joint efforts by the education department, voluntary organisations, local bodies and citizens."
Under the Centre’s Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram “ULLAS”, any state with literacy of 95 per cent or above is classified as fully literate. Uttarakhand’s new rate comfortably exceeds that threshold.
Director of Secondary Education Dr Mukul Kumar Sati had sent the formal proposal to the state government on May 25, aligning it with the revised norms of the Union Education Ministry.
Dr Sati explained why 100 per cent is not the official target.
“It is practically not possible for any state or country to achieve 100 per cent literacy.”
Dr Sati told TNIE. “Old age, serious health conditions, and mental and intellectual disabilities are among the reasons why some people cannot participate in literacy drives. Keeping this reality in mind, the Centre fixed 95 per cent literacy as the standard for full literacy.”
As per ULLAS assessment for 2025, Uttarakhand’s eligible population, excluding children below 7 years, stands at an estimated 1.23 crore. Of these, only 1.31 lakh people, or 1.3 per cent of the eligible population, remain in the non-literate category.
Officials said this means over 98.7 per cent of the state’s eligible residents can now read and write, forming the key basis for the “fully literate” declaration.
The education department credited sustained campaigns, adult literacy centres, and community participation for the turnaround. The state government said the focus will now shift to retaining literacy and linking it with skill development.
For a state with difficult terrain and scattered habitations, officials called the jump a “landmark moment” for Uttarakhand’s education sector.