The state of Indian education

For the first time, the proportion of children who are not enrolled in school falls below three percent, according to ASER (Rural) 2018 report

GN Bureau | January 15, 2019


#school   #literacy rate   #children   #ASER report   #education sector   #India education  


In India, 50 percent of all boys in the age group 14 to 16 can correctly solve a division problem as compared to 44 percent of all girls, reveals the 13th ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) (Rural) 2018. The nation-wide household survey provides a snapshot of children’s schooling and learning for a representative sample of children across rural India. ASER 2018 reached 596 districts in rural India. A total of 3,54,944 households and 5,46,527 children in the age group 3 to 16 were surveyed.

Following are the major findings of the 2018 survey:
 
Schooling level
 
·       The proportion of children (age 6-14) who are not enrolled in school has fallen below 3 percent for the first time and stands at 2.8 percent
 
·       All India proportion of girls (age 11-14) out of school is at 4.1 percent, decrease from 10.3 percent in 2006
 
·       The percentage of children (age 6-14) enrolled in private schools was 30.6 percent in 2016 and is almost unchanged at 30.9 percent in 2018
 
Reading and Maths
 
·       The percentage of all children in Std III who can read Std II level text is 27.2 percent, a an increase from 21.6 percent in 2013.
 
·       The figure for government school children in Std III who are able to do at least subtraction has not changed much, from 20.3 percent in 2016 to 20.9 percent in 2018.
 
·       The proportion of children in Std V across India who are able to do division has inched up slightly, from 26 percent in 2016 to 27.8 percent in 2018.
 
·       All India figure for the proportion of girls (age 14 to 16) who can read at least a Std II level text is very similar to that of boys. Both around 77 percent. However, girls outperform boys in many states like Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
 
Attendance
 
States with student attendance of 90 percent or more in primary schools in 2018 were Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Those with teacher attendance of 90 percent or more in 2018 were Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
 
School facilities
 
The Right to Education Act was implemented in 2010 and the first cohort of students to benefit from its provisions completed 8 years of compulsory schooling in 2018. Nationally, substantial improvements are visible over this 8-year period in the availability of many school facilities mandated by RTE. The fraction of schools with usable girls' toilets doubled, reaching 66.4 percent in 2018. The proportion of schools with boundary walls increased by 13.4 percentage points, standing at 64.4 percent in 2018. The percentage of schools with a kitchen shed increased from 82.1 percent to 91 percent, and the proportion of schools with books other than textbooks available increased from 62.6 percent to 74.2 percent over the same period. However, deficiencies are particularly marked in Jammu and Kashmir and most of the north-eastern states.
 
Sports facilities
 
In 2018, about 8 out of 10 schools had a playground available for students, either within the school premises or close by. A playground was accessible in more than 90 percent of schools in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Maharashtra. But more than a quarter of all schools in Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand did not have access to a playground.
 

Comments

 

Other News

Air Pollution: What needs to be done to tame the silent killer

Air pollution in Delhi has been in headlines, as every year in recent times. Mumbai too has suffered from air pollution, despite being a coastal city. Apart from many other metros such as Bangalore and Kolkata, tier-I and -II cities and rural areas also have high pollution levels. Every year reports and st

Free food grains for 81.35 cr beneficiaries for five years

The central government will provide free food grains to about 81.35 crore beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for a period of five years with effect from January 1, 2024, the cabinet decided on Wednesday. Terming it as a “historic decision”, a

“I wrote ‘Survival at Stake’ to provide food for thought about solutions”

Survival at Stake: How Our Treatment of Animals Is Key to Human Existence By Poorva Joshipura HarperCollins, 328 pages, Rs 499 With science now recognising animal consciousness, intelligence, emotion, and even morality, there must rise an awareness of

‘Bon Voyage’ through the Arctic: Exploring new horizons for India

India`s tryst with trade through the Arctic regions, including the Northern Sea Routes (NSR), has become an impact-making endeavor recently. The Arctic of yore is now a pivot – point of geopolitics, of climate change discussions, and for economic opportunities; 40% of oil and gas reserves said to be

Demystifying Contemporary Finance Theory and other lessons in investment

Investing Decoded: Simple Path To Building A Portfolio In Millions By Anirudh Rathore Penguin India, 320 pages, Rs 499

Deepfake: India to prepare four-point action plan

Deepfake has emerged as a serious threat to democracy and social institutions across the world. Propagation of deepfake content via social media platforms has aggravated this challenge. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has, from time to time, advised social media in

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter