For the first time since 2010, slightly more than half (50.5%) of all children in Class 5 can read a Class 2 text book, up from 46.9% in 2012.
Close to a decade since the Right to Education Act came into force and after years of flagging dismal learning levels, the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2018) holds a glimmer of hope. While most children in primary classes (1 to 5) are still way below what is expected of them, they are displaying improved reading and math skills — a change scripted largely by government schools.
For the first time since 2010, slightly more than half (50.5%) of all children in Class 5 can read a Class 2 text book, up from 46.9% in 2012. Also, the proportion of children in Class 5 who can do simple division has gone up from 24.9% in 2012 to 27.9% in 2018. For Class 3, reading levels — ability to read Class 2 text books — have been inching up since the low of 2010 (19.5%), and are now at 27.2%.
The survey shows that government schools in eight states — Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh — have recorded a growth in basic reading levels of more than 5 percentage points over 2016. Further, government schools in 10 states — Punjab, UP, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh — recorded a growth of more than 5 percentage points in basic arithmetic levels over the same period.
In Kerala, which tops in Class 5 reading levels with 77.5%, up from 69.4% in 2016, the growth is largely led by state-run schools — 10% rise in reading levels in government schools compared to 7.3% in private schools. The state has, over the last few years, witnessed a sustained campaign in favour of government schooling.
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