Shimla, Feb 25 (IANS): Himachal Pradesh Education Minister Rohit Thakur on Sunday said the state literacy has risen to over 88 per cent from eight at the time of Independence, the second highest in the country.

He said that the rise in the field of education can be attributed to the high standards and excellence of the state's government schools.

“Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu and our first Chief Minister Y.S. Parmar also received education from state-run government schools, colleges and universities,” the minister said while speaking as a chief guest at the launch of ‘Mere Shehar Ke 100 Ratan’ scholarship here by Crack Academy in all 68 constituencies of the state.

The academy would give scholarships to 100 students per constituency under the initiative. The scholarship test will be held on May 1.

Thakur said the pass-outs in government schools have had a remarkable career in the top institutions and best of the fields.

He said that students of government schools were offering their services not just in Himachal but also across India and the world.

He said it was because of this education structure that the ratio of Indian Administrative Officers from Himachal per capita was one of the best in the state and Himachal is the state with one of the highest per capita income in the country.