Government school enrolment, which rose during the pandemic, has reverted to 2018 levels, with a similar proportion of children aged 6-14 years enrolled, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) released on Tuesday by an NGO Pratham Foundation. The survey was conducted on three different groups pre-primary (age group 3-5), Elementary (age group 6-14) and Older children (age group 15-16).
Government school enrolment drops
The report reveals that there was a big jump in government school enrolment with the proportion of 6–14-year-old children enrolled in government schools rising from 65.6 per cent in 2018 to 72.9 per cent in 2022. This year, the number is reversed to 66.8 per cent.
"The increase in government school enrolment seen during the COVID-19 years seems to have reversed. Private school enrolment has been steadily rising since 2006 in rural India. The proportion of 6–14-year-olds enrolled in private schools rose from 18.7 per cent in 2006 to 30.8 per cent in 2014 and stayed at that level in 2018. During the pandemic years, there was a big jump in government school enrolment with the proportion of 6–14-year-old children enrolled in government schools rising from 65.6 per cent in 2018 to 72.9 per cent in 2022. This number is back to 66.8 per cent in 2024. This almost complete reversal back to 2018 levels is seen across grades as well as gender, and is not particularly surprising given that the economy has recovered in other sectors as well," the report said.
More than 82 per cent of students use smartphones
For the first time, the nationwide household survey had a section on digital literacy, which applied to older children in the 14-16 age group. It included self-reported questions on access, ownership and use of smartphones, as well as a one-on-one assessment of some basic digital skills. According to the report, more than 82 per cent of children in the age group of 14-16 know how to use a smartphone but only 57 per cent of them use it for educational purposes while 76 per cent said that they had used it for social media during the same period. The report also noted that not only there has been a full recovery from the pandemic-induced learning loss, but the learning levels in the primary grades are higher than past levels in some cases.
(With Inputs from PTI)