Context: Pratham NGO has released Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024, the annual report on the status of education in rural areas. According to the report, a total of 6,49,491 children in 17,997 villages across 605 rural districts in India were surveyed.
Relevance of the Topic: Mains: Question based on ASER report and observations, challenges and suggestions for the education sector.
Major Observations in ASER 2024:
1. Enrollment in pre-primary institutions (Age group 3-5 years):
- Enhanced enrollment: Enrollment in pre-primary institutions increased from 68.1% in 2018 to 75.8% in 2022 to 77.4% in 2024
- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana have achieved near-universal enrollment for this age group.
- Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh have the highest proportion of 3-year-olds not enrolled anywhere (over 50%).
- Dominance by Anganwadi: More than 75% children are enrolled in Anganwadi centres in these age groups.
- Fluctuating Private institution enrollment: Approximately one-third of all 5-year-olds attend a private school or preschool in 2024. This figure was 37.3% in 2018, fell to 30.8% in 2022, and returned to 37.5% in 2024.
2. Elementary (age group 6-14 years):
- Near 100% enrollment: Enrollment ratio has stayed almost the same, from 98.4% in 2022 to 98.1% in 2024. Across all states, enrollment in this age group is above 95% in 2024.
- Reduction in government school enrollment: The pandemic saw large increases in government school enrollments (72.9% in 2022). But by 2024, the all-India figure declined to 66.8% (dropped to the 2018 levels).
- Improvement in learning outcome:
- The proportion of Std V children in government schools who can read a Std II level text fell from 44.2% in 2018 to 38.5% in 2022 and then recovered to 44.8% in 2024.
- The All-India figure for children in Std III who are able to at least do a numerical subtraction problem was 28.2% in 2018 and 25.9% in 2022. This figure has increased to 33.7% in 2024.
3. Digital literacy:
- Access to smartphones: Access to smartphones is close to universal among the 14-16 age group. Almost 90% of both girls and boys report having a smartphone at home. More than 80% report knowing how to use a smartphone.
- Digital safety: Among children who used social media, 62% knew how to block or report a profile, 55.2% knew how to make a profile private, and 57.7% knew how to change a password.
- School infrastructure:
- Functional toilets: The fraction of schools with usable girls’ toilets increased from 66.4% in 2018 to 68.4% in 2022 to 72% in 2024.
- Drinking water facilities: About 77.7% of schools have accessible drinking water facilities.
Factors behind the improved outcomes
- Improved learning outcomes: The implementation of National Education policy and schemes like NIPUN Bharat has enhanced the learning outcomes.
- Higher enrollment: Improvement in the school infrastructure and improved health outcomes with POSHAN 2.0 scheme enhanced enrollment.
- High smartphone access: Internet connectivity with affordable internet plans and online education guidelines like PRAGYATA has enhanced the penetration of online education.
Issues and challenges:
- Regional discrepancy: There is a large variation among the states in enrollment and learning outcomes. E.g., Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh have the highest proportion of 3-year-olds not enrolled anywhere (over 50%).
- Gender gap: There is a gender gap in the digital skills and also the school infrastructure to address the needs of female students.
- Balancing academics and responsibilities: Many youth juggle school with household chores or farm work, impacting the learning outcomes.
Suggestive Measures:
- Enhancing budget: There should be an increment in the education budget of India making it 6% of the GDP.
- Strengthening retention strategies: Implementing programs to encourage continued education among 15-16 year olds by inculcation of vocational training and free of cost career counseling.
- Continuous monitoring: Encouraging online mechanisms to monitor the attendance of teachers and students in real time to enhance effectiveness of educational interventions.
The ASER 2024 report underscores the progress made in India's rural education sector, particularly in government schools, while also highlighting areas that require focused attention to ensure equitable and quality education for all students.