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ASER (Rural) 2024 - A Story of Recovery and Progress in Foundational Learning

29-01-2025

01:31 AM

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ASER (Rural) 2024 - A Story of Recovery and Progress in Foundational Learning Blog Image

Context:

  • The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 is a nationwide rural household survey (facilitated by NGO Pratham) to assess children’s schooling status and their basic reading and arithmetic skills.
  • Key findings of the ASER 2024 survey are presented separately for three groups of children: Pre-primary (age group 3-5), elementary (age group 6-14), and older children (age group 15-16).
  • The findings highlight a strong recovery from pandemic-induced learning losses and point towards the effectiveness of recent educational reforms.

Key Findings from ASER 2024:

  • Enrollment trends:
    • The overall school enrollment rate among 6-14-year-olds stood at 98.1% in 2024, close to 98.4% in 2022.
    • Pre-school enrollment among 3-5-year-olds increased, with a sharp rise among 5-year-olds from 58.5% in 2018 to 71.4% in 2024.
  • Recovery in reading skills:
    • The proportion of Class III students able to read at a Class II level has fully recovered from the pandemic setback, reaching 27.1% in 2024 (up from 20.5% in 2022).
    • For Class V students, the percentage of children who can read Class II level text has risen to 48.7% in 2024, compared to 42.8% in 2022, approaching the 50.4% level of 2018.
  • Progress in arithmetic skills:
    • The percentage of Class III students able to do basic subtraction rose to 33.7% in 2024, the highest in a decade.
    • The proportion of Class V students who can perform division increased to 30.7% in 2024, surpassing pre-pandemic levels of 27.8% in 2018.
  • Digital literacy insights:
    • ASER 2024 included a section on digital literacy for the first time, focusing on smartphone access, ownership, and basic digital skills among 14-16-year-olds.
    • More boys (85.5%) than girls (79.4%) reported knowing how to use a smartphone.

Performance of Government Schools:

  • Improvements in enrollment trends: Government school enrollment, which increased during the pandemic, has nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels - 66.8% in 2024, compared to 65.6% in 2018 and 72.9% in 2022.
  • Improvements in learning outcome:
    • In arithmetic, government schools witnessed a 36.6% improvement in subtraction skills in Class III, compared to a 10.2% rise in private schools.
    • The number of Class III children in government schools who can read a Class II textbook stands at 23.4%, up from 16.3% in 2022 and 20.9% in 2018.
  • Factors behind the improvement:
    • The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s focus on foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) appears to have played a crucial role.
    • The Union Education Ministry’s Nipun Bharat Mission has been a key driver of learning initiatives in primary education.

State-wise Progress:

  • Remarkable recovery in low-performing States:
    • States like UP, Bihar, MP, and Tamil Nadu have shown significant learning gains.
    • In UP, the proportion of Class III government school students reading at Class II level rose from 12.3% in 2018 to 27.9% in 2024.
    • Bihar saw an increase in Class III reading levels from 12.1% in 2018 to 20.1% in 2024 and arithmetic levels from 18% to 28.2%.
  • Improvement in high-performing States:
    • States like Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Odisha showed a 10-percentage point increase in reading levels from 2022 to 2024.
    • Uttarakhand recorded a sharp rise in Class III reading levels from 24.7% in 2018 to 35.6% in 2024.

 Conclusion:

  • ASER 2024 highlights not just recovery but a transformative shift in India's approach to foundational learning.
  • The NEP 2020 has provided a common goal for all states, allowing them to adopt unique strategies for FLN improvement.
  • The data underscores a nationwide effort to ensure foundational literacy and numeracy among primary school children, marking a historic milestone in India’s education system.

Q1. What is the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)?

Ans. The ASER is a nationwide survey (conducted since 2005 by NGO Pratham) that assesses the learning and schooling status of children in rural India. It is a citizen-led survey that provides information to governments and the public about the quality of education. 

Q2. What is the NIPUN Bharat Mission?

Ans. The National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) is a program that aims to improve literacy and numeracy skills in primary schools in India. The program was launched in July 2021 by the Ministry of Education. 

Q3. What is the mission of foundational literacy and numeracy?

Ans. As per National Education Policy 2020, the highest priority of the education system will be to achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy in primary school covering the learning needs of children in the age group of 3 to 9 years by 2025.

Q4. How National Education Policy 2020 promoted cooperative-competitive federalism in India?

Ans. The NEP 2020 emphasizes collaborative decision-making between the central government and states in implementing educational reforms, while also encouraging healthy competition among states to achieve better quality education standards.

Q5. What is 'PARAKH' under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020?

Ans. PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) is an organization that sets standards for student assessment in India. 

Source:IE