The states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttaranchal are set to improve their rural education ranking at the national level from No 12, 14 and 8 to No 9, 6 and 5,respectively by 2010.
An assessment on ?North India Rural Education Future Outlook? carried out by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) reveals that Punjab, which currently stands at No 12 ranking among states in terms of its rural education will leap to No 9 since rural schools in the state. The attendance of teachers and students has gone up by 80% in the last two years. The state provides mid-day meals in a majority of its rural schools, which has helped arrest school dropout rates.
Releasing the assessment, secretary general of Assocham DS Rawat informed that Haryana is also expected to show marked improvement in the literacy level of its rural masses. From its current position at No 14, it is set to move to position 6 in the next two years. The percentage of rural children, who do not attend school, has declined from 4.9% in the 2006 survey, to 3.6% in 2008. About 82% of the rural schools provided adequate water and toilet facilities till the end of 2008.
Rawat pointed out that Himachal Pradesh might slip to seventh place.