NEWS

The 16th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2021 (Rural) was released by Pratham foundation

HIGHLIGHTS

• Clear shift from private to government schools — from 64.3 per cent in 2018 to 65.8 per cent in 2020, to 70.3 per cent in 2021; and a fall in private school enrolment from 28.8 per cent in 2020 to 24.4 per cent in 2021.
• Students, especially those from poor families, are dependent more than ever on private tuition
• Classifies families with parents who have studied up to Class 5 or lower in the ‘low’ education category; parents who have cleared at least Class 9 are in the ‘high’ education category.
• 1 in 3 children in Classes I and II have never attended an in-person class, ratio being more mong government schools students
• Youngest learners also have the “least access to technology”. Almost a third of all children in Classes I and II did not have a smartphone available at home.
• 4 per cent teachers flagged the problem of children being “unable to catch up” as one of their biggest challenges — which is also a warning that their learning outcomes are set to be affected unless addressed with urgency
• A sample assessment done in Karnataka in March 2021 that covered 20,000 children ages 5-15 found “steep drops” in foundational skills, especially in lower primary grades
• Decline in the proportion of children not currently enrolled in the 15-16 age group — the one in which the risk of dropping out is the highest.
• Even fewer had had some form of contact with teachers to discuss children’s learning (28.5%)
• The proportion of families who had some contact with teachers was heavily skewed towards better off families, as proxied by parental education levels