New Delhi, Mar 12 (IANS): The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs on Monday said it has released Rs 231.5 crore in last six years for strengthening education among Scheduled Tribes (STs) in 54 low-literacy districts.

The funds were released between 2012-13 and 2017-18 under the scheme "Strengthening Education among ST Girls in Low Literacy Districts", Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Jaswantsinh Bhabhor told the Lok Sabha in a written reply, a release said.

The scheme aims at bridging the gap in literacy levels between the general female population and tribal women. Reducing drop-outs at the elementary level by creating the required ambiance for education is among the objectives of the scheme.

It covers 72 blocks of 54 districts in 12 states and one Union Territory, where the ST population is 25 per cent or more and ST female literacy rate is below 35 per cent.

According to the census data, ST female literacy rate increased from 34.8 per cent in 2001 to 49.4 per cent in 2011.

The Minister said about 10.3 million adult non-literates belonging to ST communities had been certified as literates under "Basic Literacy Assessment Test", as on March 7, 2018.

He also said that the government had released Rs 1,943.59 crore to 27 states in the last five years to set up Eklavya Model Residential Schools.