There is a lot that has been gained in the education sector in the last few decades, but India still finds it hard to attain homogeneous literacy rates in all states. The latest Ministry of Education 2025 survey statistics and national surveys also reveal that there are a few states that are still not achieving basic levels of literacy. By identifying the underlying factors and bringing attention to these states, one could pinpoint some areas to focus more on educational reforms.

1. Bihar – Struggling Despite Potential

In 2025, Bihar remains at the bottom of the Indian literacy rate ladder, with a gross literacy rate of about 63.8%. One of the main reasons for its slow progress is deep-rooted poverty, lack of infrastructure, and teacher absenteeism, as well as social-cultural obstacles, particularly to girls. Although the government has initiated several schemes, the concern is how to implement them.

2. Arunachal Pradesh – Remote and Underserved

Indeed, Arunachal Pradesh is statistically the second most illiterate state in 2025, which implies that people are literate at a rate of about 66.7%. Poor terrain, distribution of tribes and their layout, as well as the non-availability of quality schools in rural regions, are some of the contributors towards the low literacy rate in the state. Another type of challenge is the language diversity here as well.

3. Rajasthan – Tradition vs Education

Rajasthan, having a 68.5 percent literacy rate, is still struggling with backward thinking, which in most cases puts education towards the last in the queue, especially for girls. Most factors that have contributed to the state remaining in this list are child marriage, gender inequality, and poor investment in rural education, even though the state has urban centers with fine facilities.

4. Jharkhand – Economic Hardships Affecting Education

In 2025, Jharkhand had a literacy rate of approximately 69.4 percent. Due to a high rate of poverty and a high rate of population in tribal areas, the rate of dropping out of school is high in rural areas. Despite this, the state has improved vehicles, such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, but the way to universal literacy is still very long.

5. Uttar Pradesh – The Population Challenge

The government of India is very much concerned with the literacy level, and the state of Uttar Pradesh is the largest in India, with a literacy rate of 70.1 percent in 2025. The raw number of the population, the existence of infrastructural constraints, congestion of the classrooms, and rural-urban disparities impede the education changes from being implemented within a short period.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

Although all five of these states are still grappling with the illiteracy level, a change can still be achieved through both the government and civil society. Educational improvement and empowerment of millions through literacy would require an increase in investment in primary education, teacher preparation, and gender sensitive policies.