Itanagar, Jan 18: The school enrollment rate for the 6-14 years age group in Arunachal Pradesh has been above 96% for the past 15 years. Despite school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, overall enrollment figures have increased marginally from 96.1% in 2018 to 96.9% in 2022, revealed the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022 that was released on Wednesday.
ASER 2022 - the largest citizen-led rural survey, delineating the status-quo of primary education in India - reached 616 districts and a total of 19,060 villages in rural India. 374,544 households and 699,597 children in the age group 3 to 16 were surveyed. While in Arunachal Pradesh, it reached 13 districts and a total of 376 villages. 5,320 households and 9148 children in the age group 3 to 16 were surveyed.
“This report gives us the direction and also the sense that to enhance education standards, the eco-system involving government, corporates, civil society and NGOs need to work together. A concerted effort by all in the education space is needed to propel India’s economic and social development,” said Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group and Chairman, Pratham Education Foundation while releasing the 17th ASER report.
He said, ASER 2022 returned to the field nationwide after a gap of 4 years, reaching 616 rural districts. This year’s data will be especially valuable as it comes after schools reopened after prolonged closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As always, this household survey recorded the schooling status of children in the age group 3-16 and assessed children aged 5-16 in basic reading and arithmetic. Children’s English ability was also tested this year.
Key findings from ASER 2022 (Rural): Govt school enrollment: The period 2006 to 2014 saw a steady decrease in the proportion of children (age 6 to 14) enrolled in Govt schools. In 2014, this figure stood at 64.9% and did not change much over the following four years. However, the proportion of children (age 6 to 14) enrolled in Govt school increased sharply from 65.6% in 2018 to 72.9% in 2022. Increase in Govt school enrollment is visible in almost every state in the country. In Arunachal Pradesh, ASER saw that the % of children in the age group of 6-14 enrolled in Govt schools stands at 62.2% in 2022 as compared to 60.1% in 2018.
Proportion of girls who are not currently enrolled: In 2006, the all-India figure for the percentage of girls aged 11-14 who were out of school stood at 10.3%, falling over the following decade to 4.1% in 2018. This proportion has continued to drop. In 2022, the all India figure for 11-14-year-old girls not enrolled in school stands at 2%.
“In 2006, 8.7% of the girls in the age group of 11-14 were not enrolled in school in Arunachal Pradesh. We have seen this figure reduce steadily over the years. In 2022, this figure for 11-14-year-old girls not enrolled in school stands at 3%,” it said.
Enrollment in the pre-primary age group: Across rural India, the proportion of 3-year-olds enrolled in some form of early childhood education stands at 78.3% in 2022, an increase of 7.1 percentage points over 2018 levels. There is a substantial shift in enrollment patterns of young children in the age group 3-5 years who have moved into the ICDS (Anganwadi) system from other forms of pre-school and school provision. In 2022, 66.8% of 3-year-olds were enrolled in Anganwadi Centres as compared to 57.1% in 2018. Among 4 year olds, Anganwadi enrollment has increased from 50.5% (2018) to 61.2% (2022).
In Arunachal Pradesh, the proportion of 3-year-olds enrolled in some form of early childhood education stands at 64.4% in 2022, an increase of 4.2 percentage points over 2018 levels. There is a substantial shift in enrollment patterns of young children in the age group 3-5 years. In 2022, 42.7% of 3-year-olds were enrolled in Anganwadi Centres as compared to 35.2% in 2018. Among 4-year-olds, Anganwadi enrollment has increased from 25.7% (2018) to 29.8% (2022).
Paid private tuition classes: Over the past decade, rural India has seen small, steady increases in the proportion of children in Std I-VIII taking paid private tuition classes. Between 2018 and 2022 this proportion increased further, among students in both government and private schools. Nationally, the proportion of children in Std I-VIII taking paid private tuition classes increased from 26.4% in 2018 to 30.5% in 2022.
In Arunachal Pradesh, the proportion of children in Std I-VIII taking paid private tuition classes increased from 23.1% in 2018 to 26.6% in 2022. The report also saw a higher percentage of children from private school take tuitions (42.7%) as compared to children in govt schools (18.5%)
Learning levels: Foundational skills in reading and arithmetic: Reading: The ASER reading test assesses whether a child can read letters, words, a simple paragraph at Std I level of difficulty, or a "story" at Std II level of difficulty. The test is administered one on one to all children in the age group 5 to 16 in sampled households. Each child is marked at the highest level that she or he can reach comfortably.
Nationally, children's basic reading ability has dropped to pre-2012 levels, reversing the slow improvement achieved in the intervening years. Drops are visible in both government and private schools in most states, and for both boys and girls.
Std III: The percentage of children in Std III in government or private schools who can read at Std II level dropped from 27.3% in 2018 to 20.5% in 2022. This decline is visible in every state and for children in both government and private schools. States showing a decline of more than 10 percentage points from 2018 levels include those that had higher reading levels in 2018, such as Kerala (from 52.1% in 2018 to 38.7% in 2022), Himachal Pradesh (from 47.7% to 28.4%), and Haryana (from 46.4% to 31.5%). Large drops are also visible in Andhra Pradesh (from 22.6% to 10.3%) and Telangana (from 18.1% to 5.2%). In Arunachal Pradesh, the percentage of children in Std III in government or private schools who can read at Std II level dropped from 18.7% in 2018 to 10.8% in 2022.
In Arunachal Pradesh, 73.3% of children enrolled in Std VIII in government or private schools could read at least basic text in 2022 as compared to 70.1% in 2018.
Arithmetic: The ASER arithmetic test assesses whether a child can recognise numbers from 1 to 9, recognise numbers from 11 to 99, do a 2-digit numerical subtraction problem with borrowing, or correctly solve a numerical division problem (3 digit by 1 digit). The tasks are administered one on one to all children in the age group 5 to 16 in sampled households. Each child is marked at the highest level that she or he can reach.
Nationally, children's basic arithmetic levels have declined over 2018 levels for most grades. But the declines are less steep and the picture is more varied than in the case of basic reading.
Std III: The All India figure for children in Std III who are able to at least do subtraction dropped from 28.2% in 2018 to 25.9% in 2022.
In Arunachal Pradesh, 33.5% of the children in Std III (this includes children in both govt and private schools) were able to at least do subtraction in 2018. This figure has gone up to 35.8% in 2022.
The proportion of children in Std V in Arunachal Pradesh who can do division in government or private schools has reduced from 27.1 in 2018 to 22.9% in 2022, while the proportion of children in Std VIII from both govt and private schools who can do division has decreased from 49.3% in 2018 to 45.9% in 2022.
English: The ASER English test assesses children's ability to read capital letters, small letters, simple 3-letter words, and short easy sentences in English. Nationally, children's ability to read simple English sentences has stayed more or less at the 2016 level for children in Std V (from 24.7% in 2016 to 24.5% in 2022). Slight improvements are visible for children in Std VIII (from 45.3% in 2016 to 46.7% in 2022).
In Arunachal Pradesh, children's ability to read simple English sentences has increased from 33.2% in 2016 to 47.8%. In 2022, a slight improvement is visible for children in Std VIII (from 75.9% in 2016 to 76.0% in 2022).
School facilities: Nationally, small improvements are visible in all Right to Education-related indicators over 2018 levels. For example, the fraction of schools with useable girls' toilets increased from 66.4% in 2018 to 68.4% in 2022. The proportion of schools with drinking water available increased from 74.8% to 76%, and the proportion of schools with books other than textbooks being used by students increased from 36.9% to 44% over the same period.
In Arunachal Pradesh, useable girls' toilets increased from 28.2% in 2018 to 43.6% in 2022. The proportion of schools with drinking water available increased from 44.7% to 62.0%, and the proportion of schools with books other than textbooks being used by students increased from 4.4% to 5.9% over the same period.
Most sports-related indicators also remain at close to the levels observed in 2018. For example, in 2022, 68.9% schools have a playground, up slightly from 66.5% in 2018. For Arunachal Pradesh, in 2022, 78.2% the upper primary schools have a playground as compared to 55.5% in 2018.
Other school indicators: About 80% of all primary schools had received a directive to implement Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) activities with their students, and about the same proportion had at least 1 teacher who had received training on FLN.
In Arunachal Pradesh, about 39% of all primary schools had received a directive to implement FLN activities with their students, and about 61% proportion had at least 1 teacher who had received training on FLN.