NGO Pratham released 10th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2014)

NGO Pratham on 13 January 2015 released 10th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2014). The report noted that overall situation with basic reading continues to be extremely disheartening in India.

The report is based on the survey in 577 districts and 16497 villages covering 341070 households and about 569229 children in the age group 3-16.

The report reveals that for six years in row school enrolment in India was 96 percent or above for the 6-14 age group and India is close to universal enrollment in this age group.

Nationally, the percentage of children out of school in the age group 6-14 remains at 3.3 percent. This is the same as was in 2013.

Highlights of the Report
• The 25 percent of Class 8 students cannot read a Class 2 level text.
• Only one-fourth of all children in Class 3 can read a Class 2 text fluently in 2014. This number rises to just under half in Class 5.
• Close to 75 percent of Class 8 children can read Class 2 level text, which implies still 25 percent children, cannot read.
• The proportion of Class 5 children who can at least read a Class 2 level text has raised from 46.8 percent in 2012 to 47 percent in 2013 and to 48.1 percent in 2014.
• 38.7 percent of Class 3 children can read at least a Class 1 level text in 2012, which is slightly higher at 40.2 percent in 2014.
• Tamil Nadu has shown major gains in reading over 2013 for Class 5.
• 30.8 percent of children of age group 6-14 in rural India were enrolled in private schools in 2014, which has increased in number slightly from 29 percent in 2013.
• However, Mathematics continued to be a serious and major source of concern.
• All India (rural) figures for basic arithmetic have remained virtually unchanged over the last few years.
• 26.3 percent of Class 3 children could do two digit subtractions in 2012 and this number is at 25.3 percent in 2014.
• For Class 5 children, the ability to do division has increased slightly from 24.8 percent in 2012 to 26.1 percent in 2014.
• The percentage of children in Class 2 who still cannot recognize numbers up to nine has increased from 11.3 percent in 2009 to 19.5 percent in 2014.