International Literacy Day 2026 is being observed worldwide today, September 8, to highlight the importance of literacy in sustainable development and draw the attention of key stakeholders to the measures needed to address literacy gaps and take appropriate steps to improve sustainability literacy. On the occasion, Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of Education, called for renewing the commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind in the journey of learning. He said that an educated and empowered citizenry is the strongest foundation for a Viksit Bharat.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), at least 739 million youth and adults worldwide lacked basic literacy skills in 2024. At the same time, four in 10 children are not reaching minimum proficiency in reading, while 272 million children and adolescents were out of school in 2023. Notably, India's literacy rate increased to 81% in 2024 from 77% in 2023.
International Literacy Day (ILD) marks its 60th anniversary this year with the theme "Literacy for people, the planet and prosperity." International Literacy Day 2026 stresses the need to take stock of progress, deepen understanding of persistent and emerging challenges, and shape future literacy agendas in a rapidly changing world.
India's School Education Progress
Over the past five years, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has brought major changes to the school education system. The NIPUN Bharat Mission has been rolled out to achieve foundational literacy and numeracy for all children, while several States have started implementing school complex and cluster models to support decentralised planning.
Over the past several decades, India's school education system has undergone steady expansion, becoming one of the largest in the world, with more than 14.71 lakh schools and nearly 24.69 crore students, according to the UDISE+ Report 2024-25.
NITI Aayog 2026 report
The NITI Aayog 2026 report, titled 'School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement', has highlighted that India has made significant progress in school infrastructure, including electricity, rollout of computers, internet connectivity, and smart‑class facilities. However, regional disparities persist.
Improvements at the national level coexist with significant regional divergence: more than one-third of schools still lack computers, over one-third of schools remain without internet connectivity, and nearly seven out of 10 schools still lack smart classrooms.
Availability Of Functional Computers
Access to functional computers is a key enabler of technology-integrated learning and digital skill development. According to the official data, the availability of computers in schools has expanded steadily over the last decade. Nationally, the share of schools with functional computers increased from 26.42% in 2014-15 to 64.7% in 2024-25.
The study has shown that the availability of computers in schools has reached full coverage in Lakshadweep (100%), and is virtually universal in Delhi (99.9%), Puducherry (99.5%), Chandigarh (99.5%), Kerala (99.5%), and Punjab (99%).
