Dhaka, Jul 16 (bdnews24.com)—Females far outshone their male counterparts in being literate in the last decade even though their combined literacy rate did not make much progress.
The 5th Population and Housing Census 2011 showed Bangladesh's literacy rate has increased only by 0.56 percentage points in each year and reached 51.8 percent in 2011 from 46.2 percent in 2001.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics' Census finds female literacy rate has increased 7.6 percent in the last decade while the male literacy rate progressed only 3.8 percent.
Of the total females that comprise 49.94 percent of the total population 49.4 percent were found literate while the literacy rate for the male, 50.06 percent of the total population, was 54.1 percent.
However, analysts expressed their pleasure at the new rate as they observed 'it is more realistic' because of the change in definition.
The Census Project Director Ashim Kumar Dey told bdnews24.com that they had changed the definition of literacy during 2011 census.
"Earlier we considered those who can sign as literate. But this time we took those who can express themselves in words," he said, "one can sign imitating others, but expressing themselves by writing something really matters."
Hossain Zillur Rahman, a former adviser to the Ministry of Education, termed the figure 'more realistic.'
"It'll remove the crisis prevailing over the literacy rate in Bangladesh," he told bdnews24.com in an immediate reaction.
"There are differences between the government and NGOs over the statistics of literacy rate. Government sometimes tries to exaggerate the figure while NGOs try to underestimate them," he said, "but now we'll be able to pinpoint the real challenge of literacy."
He said being able to sign mean little. "They (the literate) should have the ability to express themselves in words."
Rahman, also Chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre, said the primary education enrollment rate in Bangladesh was over 90 percent. "But more than 50 percent drop out during primary studies."
The final results of the census found Bangladesh's total population was 14, 97,72,364 on Mar 15 last year and with 1.37 percent growth rate it was 15,25,18,015 on Monday.
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