Assam Beats Kerala In Primary Education Outcomes
There is a great deal of focus now on education outcomes. Given this trend, the following figures might come as a surprise.
When it comes to primary education, the north eastern state of Assam, which has an overall literacy rate of 72.19%, is ranked No 1 in outcomes at the primary school level, according to a report of the Ministry of Human Resources.
Assam is also ahead of Kerala, which has a literacy rate of 95.72% and is ranked No 29 in outcomes. Usually, it is assumed that Kerala would lead in outcomes thanks to its overall lead in literacy levels.
Karnataka at No 2, Chhatisgarh at No 3, Tamil Nadu at No 4 and Jharkhand at 5 are the other states which might surprise some.
Outcomes have been based on various parameters including transition from primary to upper primary, gross enrolment ratio and drop-out rate.
These figures are from the Flash Statistics for 2013-14 released under District Information System for Education (DISE). Assam and Kerala are followed by Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand.
| State | Rank On Outcomes |
| Assam | 1 |
| Karnataka | 2 |
| Chhattisgarh | 3 |
| Tamil Nadu | 4 |
| Jharkhand | 5 |
While Meghalaya is ranked No 1 in access, Karnataka has the best infrastructure and Lakshadweep tops the list for teachers.
If we look at the composite (primary + upper primary level) educational development index for all schools and all managements for primary and upper primary, Puducherry is ranked No 1 followed by Lakshadweep and Sikkim.
| State | Composite Rank (Primary & Upper Primary Schools) |
| Puduchery | 1 |
| Lakshadweep | 2 |
| Sikkim | 3 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 4 |
| Karnataka | 5 |
(Copy updated to reflect corrected version of the story that was first published on June 20, 2014)
