In reply to a question in Parliament on Monday, The Education Ministry said that more than 98 percent of educational blocks in Bihar are educationally backward. According to the data by the ministry, 530 out of 537 educational blocks in Bihar are termed educationally backward blocks. No other state than Bihar has more than 80 percent of education blocks labeled backward.

Uttar Pradesh (71.17%) and Jharkhand (76.5%) follow Bihar as the state with the highest percentage of educationally backward blocks. Uttar Pradesh (UP) has the highest number of educationally backward blocks, as there are 679 such blocks out of 954 educational blocks.

The ministry data also disclosed that 11 states had more than 50 percent of educationally backward blocks. These include- Chhattisgrah (50.68%), Andhra Pradesh (50.90%), Jammu and Kashmir (51.81%), and Odisha (54.75%), Assam (55.10%), Madhya Pradesh (63.01%), and Telangana (66.67%).

Mizoram and Kerala had the lowest number of educationally backward blocks, with one each. Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are the only two states with a percentage of educationally backward blocks amounting to less than 10 percent of the total educational blocks.

educationally backward blocks were recognized as a component of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which has since been united into the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. The identification is done on twin criteria. Educational blocks that have a female literacy rate less than the national average and a gender gap in literacy less than the national average are recognized as educationally backward.