Assistant Professor in Geography, A.P.C. College, New Barrackpur, W.B.
Online published on 21 March, 2018.
In the hierarchical social structure of rural India, literacy level of the people continuously decrease from the upper social segments to lower social segments. In every social segment female literacy level is lower than male literacy. Male people of the upper social segments enjoy all the educational facilities since their childhood, that the women of the same segments did not get. That results in high literacy level among the male compared to the female literacy. In contrast to it long history of deprivation from all educational facilities, kept both male and female people of the lower social segments nearly illiterate. In independent India getting educational facilities the women of the upper social segments improve their literacy level at a high level and reduce the difference between male and female literacy. Only male members of the lower segments are privileged and enjoy most of the educational facilities compared to the females. Male literacy level rise at a high level, the female literacy level remain low. This picture is prominent in rigid social structure than fluid or progressive social structure.
