It has been over a month since Mizoram was declared India’s first fully literate state. With a literacy rate of 98.2%, Mizoram surpassed the Ministry of Education’s 95% benchmark under the ULLAS initiative very quickly. Chief Minister Lalduhoma had announced this feat at Mizoram University, revelling in the marvel that it was.
Mizoram’s success was not just about government policy but the Mizo spirit of tlawmngaihna that is selfless community service. Volunteers, students and teachers alike, ventured into remote areas with poor connectivity to teach 1,692 of the 3,026 illiterate adults identified in a survey conducted in 2023. Classes were held in schools, community halls and homes. They used tailored materials like Vartian and Margdarshika for teachers ensuring functional literacy in reading, writing, numeracy, even in skills like digital and financial literacy. The results were striking. Rural literacy rose to an all time high of 98.1% and urban at 98.3%, nearly erasing India’s typical 15-point urban- rural literacy gap.
Beyond literacy, Mizoram excels in other sectors as well. It boasts India’s third-highest female workforce participation rate, a sex ratio at birth of 975 females per 1,000 males. The national is at 929. the Northeast’s lowest infant mortality rate, and one of India’s highest school attendance rates.
Mizoram’s model of volunteerism and government collaboration offers a blueprint for other states.
