New Delhi: Tripura has emerged as a fully literate state after Mizoram and Goa on Monday, as per the benchmark set by the Ministry of Education for a state. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Monday made the declaration based on the data from ‘Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society’ (ULLAS) initiative at a programme held in Agartala.

When a state’s literacy rate exceeds 95 per cent, it is considered as a fully literate state. Union Ministry of Education, Preeti Meena asserted that Tripura’s literacy rate has reached 95.6 per cent, making it a fully literate state.  According to the UNESCO guidelines, a state is considered to be fully literate, when its literacy rate exceeds the 95 per cent benchmark.

CM congratulates Tripura people

Elated over the achievement, Tripura CM said in a post on X, “This achievement has been made possible through the effective implementation of the New India Literacy Programme ULLAS in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. I congratulate my brothers and sisters of Tripura on this historic occasion.”

Saha added that the  ULLLAS programme was earlier limited to teaching people basic signature skills, but now the government will aim to focus on building functional literacy to improve real-life skills.

Reflecting a significant growth in the literacy rate of the state, the Chief Minister said Tripura’s literacy rate rose from 20.24 per cent in 1961 to 60.44 per cent in 1991 followed by 73.19 per cent in 2001, 87.22 per cent in 2011. According to the 2023- 24 labour force survey , the literacy rate rose from 93.7 per cent to 95.6 per cent in 2024-25.

What is ULLAS?

ULLAS is a centrally sponsored scheme aimed at promoting lifelong learning and literacy among adults aged 15 and above who missed out on formal education. It seeks to empower them with foundational literacy, numeracy, and essential life skills, in line with NEP 2020.