Education

** Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2011

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Key findings of the Annual Status of Education Report 2012 prepared by PRATHAM, http://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER_2012/nationalfinding.pdf are as follows:

Enrollment in the 6-14 age group continues to be very high. But the proportion of out of school children has increased, especially among girls in the age group of 11 to 14

•    Overall, enrollment numbers remain very high. Over 96% of all children in the age group 6 to 14 years are enrolled in school. This is the fourth consecutive year that enrollment levels have been 96% or more.

•    Nationally, the proportion of children (age 6 to 14) who are not enrolled in school has gone up slightly, from 3.3% in 2011 to 3.5% in 2012. A slight increase is seen for all age groups and for both boys and girls.

•    Girls in the age group of 11 to 14 years are often the hardest to bring to school and keep in school. In 2006, in eight major states, more than 11% girls in this age group were not enrolled in school. By 2011, this figure had dropped to less than 6.5% in 3 of these states (Jharkhand, Gujarat and Odisha) and less than 5% in 3 others (Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal). The situation in these states remained more or less unchanged in 2012. However in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the proportion of out of school girls (age 11-14) has increased from 8.9% and 9.7% respectively in 2011 to more than 11% in 2012

Private school enrollment continues to rise in almost all states

•    At the All India level private school enrollment has been rising steadily since 2006. The percentage of 6 to 14 year olds enrolled in private schools rose from 18.7% in 2006 to 25.6% in 2011. This year this number has further increased to 28.3%. The increase is almost equal in primary (Std. I-V) and upper primary (Std. VI-VIII) classes. In 2012, among all private school children (age 6-14), 57.9% were boys.

•    In 2012, more than 40% of children (age 6-14 years) in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Meghalaya are enrolled in private schools. This percentage is 60% or more in Kerala and Manipur.

•    Increase in private school enrollment is seen in almost all states, with the exception of Kerala, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya (where private school enrollment was over 40% even last year) and Tripura.

•    Since 2009, private school enrollment in rural areas has been rising at an annual rate of about 10%. If this trend continues, by 2018 India will have 50% children in rural areas enrolled in private school

Reading levels continue to be a cause for serious concern. More than half of all children in Std. V are at least three grade levels behind where they should be

•    In 2010 nationally, 46.3% of all children in Std. V could not read a Std. II level text. This proportion increased to 51.8% in 2011 and further to 53.2% in 2012. For Std. V children enrolled in government schools, the percentage of children unable to read Std. II level text has increased from 49.3% (2010) to 56.2% (2011) to 58.3% (2012).

•    For all children in Std. V, the major decline in reading levels (of 5 percentage points or more) between 2011 and 2012 is seen in Haryana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala. Even private schools in Maharashtra and Kerala, with a large proportion of aided schools, show a decline in reading ability for Std. V.

•    The percentage of all children enrolled in Std. III who cannot read a Std. I level text has increased steadily from 53.4% (2009) to 54.4% (2010) to 59.7% (2011) to 61.3% in 2012. For children enrolled in government schools, this figure has increased from 57.6% in 2010 to 64.8% in 2011 to 67.7% in 2012.

2012 was the year of mathematics. But it has been a bad year for basic arithmetic for children in India

•    In 2010, of all children enrolled in Std. V, 29.1% could not solve simple two-digit subtraction problems with borrowing. This proportion increased to 39% in 2011 and further to 46.5% in 2012. Barring Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, every major state shows signs of a substantial drop in arithmetic learning levels.

•    Comparing the cohort of children who were in government schools in Std. V in 2011 with the cohort in Std. V in 2012, there is evidence of a more than 10 percentage point drop in the ability to do basic subtraction in almost all states. Exceptions are Bihar, Assam and Tamil Nadu where the drop is less; and Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala where there has been either improvement or no change from 2011.

•    The proportion of all children enrolled in Std. V who could not do division problems has increased from 63.8% in 2010 to 72.4% in 2011 to 75.2% in 2012. In rural India as a whole, two years ago about two thirds of all children in Std. V could not do simple division. In 2012 this number is close to three fourths.

•    Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra are all states where the cohort in Std. V in 2012 seems to be substantially weaker than the cohort in Std. V in 2011. In the southern states, the situation is unchanged from 2011 except in Kerala where there is a significant improvement

ASER 2012 assessed basic English

•    In ASER 2012, children were given a set of simple English reading and comprehension tasks. Across rural India, 48.9% children enrolled in Std. V could read English words or more, and 22.5% could read simple English sentences. Among all children enrolled in Std. VIII, 47% could read sentences. Of those who could read words or sentences, well above 60% could convey the meaning in their own language

Private inputs into children’s education, such as private schooling and private tutoring, are widespread

•    And their influence on children’s learning outcomes is substantial.

•    Whether enrolled in government schools or private schools, across rural India in the elementary grades (Std. I-VIII) about a quarter of all children also go to paid private tutors.

Another way to think about private inputs into education is to categorize children into four groups:

1. Children in government schools who do not go to private tutors;

2. Children in government schools who go to private tutors;

3. Children in private schools who do not go to private tutors; and

4. Children in private schools who go to private tutor

•    In 2012, the above four groups comprised 54.5%, 18.8%, 20.7% and 6% of all students in Std. V. Children in categories 2, 3 and 4 – amounting to about 45% of all children in Std. V in rural India - receive some form of private input into their education, either in the form of schooling or tuition.

•    The influence of additional inputs in the form of tuition on children’s ability to read or to do arithmetic is clear.

The proportion of small schools is rising in India

•    A total of 14,591 schools were visited during ASER 2012. Of these about 60% were government primary schools with classes up to Std. IV or V and the rest were upper primary schools which had primary sections.

•    The proportion of government primary schools with enrollment of 60 or fewer students has increased over time. In the last 3 years, this figure has increased from 26.1% in 2009 to 32.1% in 2012.

•    The proportion of children in primary grades who sit in multigrade classrooms is also rising. For Std. II, this number has gone up from 55.8% in 2009 to 62.6% in 2012. For Std. IV, it has risen from 51% in 2010 to 56.6% in 2012

School facilities show improvement over time

•    Based on RTE norms, the pupil teacher ratio shows improvement. In 2010, the proportion of schools meeting these norms was 38.9%. This number has risen to 42.8% in 2012.

•    73% of all schools visited had drinking water available. However, just under 17% did not have drinking water facility at all. A water facility was available, though not usable in the remaining schools.

•    The proportion of schools without toilets has reduced from 12.2% in 2011 to 8.4% in 2012 and the proportion of schools with useable toilets has increased from 47.2% in 2010 to 56.5% in 2012. Approximately 80% of schools visited had separate provision for girls’ toilets. Of schools which had this separate provision, close to half had useable girls’ toilets, as compared to a third in 2010.

•    The mid-day meal was observed being served in 87.1% schools that were visited

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According to Children in India 2012-A Statistical Appraisal, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, GoI,

http://www.im4change.org/docs/659Children_in_India_2012.pdf:  

• Statistics of School Education (2009-10) shows that there are 14,49,420 educational institutions in the country, of which there are 67,822 Pre-Primary/ Pre-basic schools, 8,23,162 Primary/ Junior basic schools, 3,67,745 Middle/ Sr. Basic schools, 1,23,726 High/ Post Basic schools, 66,917 Pre-degree/ junior colleges/ Higher secondary schools and 48 Boards of intermediate/ Secondary education.

• 89% teachers in the Higher Secondary Schools/ Junior Colleges were trained whereas the corresponding level in High /Post Basic Schools, Middle/ Sr.Basic School and Pre-Primary/ Primary/ Jr. Basic School are 90%, 88% and 86% respectively.

• The Economic Survey 2011-12 points out that pupil-teacher ratio improved from 38.9% in 2010 to 40.7% in 2011.

• At all India level, there has been a marginal decline in the proportion of schools with at least one classroom per teacher, from 76.2% in 2010 to 74.3% in 2011.

• Pupil-teacher ratio stood at 39 for Higher Secondary Schools/ Inter Colleges, 30 for High /Post Basic Schools, 34 for Middle/ Sr. Basic School and 42 for Pre-Primary/ Primary/ Jr. Basic School, as per Statistics of School Education 2009-10.

• Percentage of trained teachers stood at 89 percent for Higher Secondary Schools/ Inter Colleges, 90 percent for High /Post Basic Schools, 88 percent for Middle/ Sr. Basic School and 86 percent for Pre-Primary/ Primary/ Jr. Basic School, as per Statistics of School Education 2009-10.

• Number of female teachers per hundred male teachers stood at 65 for Higher Secondary Schools/ Inter Colleges, 61 for High /Post Basic Schools, 72 for Middle/ Sr. Basic School and 86 for Pre-Primary/ Primary/ Jr. Basic School, as per Statistics of School Education 2009-10.

• The number of primary schools in India has increased from 7.38 lakh in 2005-06 to 8.23 lakh in 2009-10.

• The number of Upper Primary schools in India has increased from 3.85 lakh in 2005-06 to 4.91 lakh in 2009-10.

• Number of teachers in Government schools increased from 3.4 million in 2005-06 to 3.9 million in 2009-10. 

• Gross enrolment ratio (GER is the total enrolment in a specific level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the eligible official school-age population corresponding to the same level of education in a given school year) for primary schools has improved from 104 percent in 2005-06 to 115 percent in 2009-10.

• Net enrolment ratio (NER is the ratio of children of official school age who are enrolled in school to the population of the corresponding official school age) has improved significantly from 84.5 percent in 2005-06 to 98 percent in 2009-10.

• Gender parity index (GPI is the ratio of the number of female students enrolled at primary and secondary levels in public and private schools to the number of male students) in primary education has gone up from 0.76 in 1990-91 to 1.00 in 2009-10 showing 31.6% increase and in secondary education the increase is from 0.60 in 1990-91 to 0.88 in 2009-10 thereby showing 46.7% increase.

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Key findings of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2011, http://pratham.org/images/Aser-2011-report.pdf, are as follows: 

Very high enrollment figures for rural India

• 96.7% of all 6-14 year olds in rural India are enrolled in school. This number has held steady since 2010.

• States that had a high proportion (over 10%) of 11-14 year old girls out of school in 2006 have made significant progress. For example Bihar out of school numbers have dropped from 17.6% in 2006 to 4.3% in 2011. Rajasthan shows a decline from 18.9% in 2006 to 8.9% in 2011. Uttar Pradesh has shown the least progress with 11.1% 2006 and 9.7% in 2011.

• Substantial numbers of five year old children are enrolled in school. The All India figure stands at 57.8% for 2011.  This proportion varies across states, ranging from 87.1% in Nagaland to 18.8% in Karnataka.

Private school enrollment is rising in most states

• Nationally, private school enrollment has risen year after year for the 6-14 age group, increasing from 18.7% in 2006 to 25.6% in 2011. These increases are visible in all states except Bihar.

• In states like Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur and Meghalaya there has been an increase of over 10 percentage points in private school enrollment in the last five years.

• According to ASER 2011 data, between 30 to 50% of children in rural areas of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are enrolled in private schools.

Basic reading levels showing decline in many states

• Nationally, reading levels are estimated to have declined in many states across North India. The All India figure for the proportion of children in Std V able to read a Std 2 level text has dropped from 53.7% in 2010 to 48.2% in 2011. Such declines are not visible in the southern states.

• In a few states there is good news. In Gujarat, Punjab and Tamil Nadu the numbers for 2011 are better than for 2010.  Several states in the north-eastern region of India also show positive change. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh numbers remain unchanged from last year

Arithmetic levels also show a decline across most states

• Basic arithmetic levels estimated in ASER 2011 show a decline. For example, nationally, the proportion of Std III children able to solve a 2 digit subtraction problem with borrowing has dropped from 36.3% in 2010 to 29.9% in 2011. Among Std V children, the ability to do similar subtraction problems has dropped from 70.9% in 2010 to 61.0% in 2011.

• This decline is visible in almost every state; only Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu show improvements from 2010 to 2011.  Several states in the north-eastern region of India also show positive change. There is no change in arithmetic levels in Gujarat.

Main findings from school visits:

Children’s attendance has declined

• At the All India level, children's attendance shows a decline from 73.4% in 2007 to 70.9% in 2011 in rural primary schools.

• In some states, children's attendance shows a sharp decline over time: for example in primary schools of Bihar, average attendance of children was 59.0% in 2007 and 50.0% in 2011.  In Madhya Pradesh this figure has fallen from 67.0% in 2007 to 54.5% in 2011 and in Uttar Pradesh from 64.4% (2007) to 57.3% (2011).

More than half of all Std 2 and Std 4 classes are sit together with another class

• During the school visit, ASER focuses on Std 2 and Std 4 and observes whether children in these classes are sitting together with children from other classes.

• Nationally, for rural government primary schools, data suggests that over half of all classes visited are multigrade. For example, all India Std 2 was sitting with one or more other classes in 58.3% of Std 2 classes in primary schools were sitting with another class. This figure is 53% for Std 4.

• Schools get their grants, but not on time

Main findings: Tracking RTE Indicators

Not much change in compliance on Pupil-teacher ratio and Classroom-teacher ratio

• At the All India level, there has been a marginal improvement in the proportion of schools complying with RTE norms on pupil-teacher ratio, from 38.9% in 2010 to 40.7% in 2011. In 2011, Kerala stands out with 94.1% of schools in compliance, and in Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Manipur, more than 80% schools are in compliance with these norms.

• At the All India level, there has been a marginal decline in the proportion of schools with at least one classroom per teacher, from 76.2% in 2010 to 74.3% in 2011. In Mizoram, 94.8% of schools comply with the teacher-classroom norms and in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra more than 80% of schools are in compliance.

No major changes in buildings, playgrounds, boundary walls or drinking water

• All India figures for 2011 show no significant improvement in the proportion of schools with an office cum store.  This figure remains at 74%.  Similarly, for the country has a whole, about 62% of visited schools had a playground, both in 2010 and in 2011.   However, there has been an increase in the proportion of all schools that have a boundary wall, from 50.9% in 2010 to 54.1% in 2011.

• Nationally, the proportion of schools with no provision for drinking water remained almost the same – 17.0% in 2010 and 16.6% in 2011. The proportion of schools with a useable drinking water facility has remained steady at about 73%.  Kerala has the best record with 93.8% schools that have a useable drinking water facility.

Better provision of girls’ toilets

• The proportion of schools where there was no separate girls' toilet has declined from 31.2% in 2010 to 22.6% in 2011.  Also, there has been a substantial improvement in the proportion of schools that have separate girls' toilets that are useable.  This figure has risen nationally from 32.9% in 2010 to 43.8% in 2011

More libraries in schools, and more children using them

• The proportion of schools without libraries has declined from 37.5% in 2010 to 28.6% in 2011. Children were seen using the library in more schools as well-up from 37.9% in 2010 to 42.3% in 2011.

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According to Global Education Digest 2011-Comparing Education Statistics Across the World, UNESCO, 

http://www.uis.unesco.org/Library/Documents/global_education_digest_2011_en.pdf:   

• The most populated country in South Asia, India, accounts for three-quarters of the regional leap in enrolment. From 1970 to 2009, enrolment in secondary education increased from 21 million to 102 million in this country alone. 

• In Afghanistan and India lower secondary enrolment ratios are below 80%.

• The biggest increases in total numbers of primary and secondary school teachers from 1990 to 2009 were observed in sub-Saharan Africa (79% and 157%), the Arab States (71% and 112%) and South and West Asia (49% and 83%). In sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia (in particular in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan), growth has been especially rapid since 2000 with the passage of international agreements set out in the EFA Dakar Framework for Action. However, all three regions are still faced with acute teacher shortages in their bid to meet the EFA goals by 2015.

• In 2009, 702 million children were enrolled worldwide in primary education, compared to 646 million in 1999. This marked improvement in access to primary education represents an increase of 9% worldwide.

• The gross enrolment ratio (GER) in lower secondary education increased from 72% to 80% worldwide between 1999 and 2009, with notable increases in the Arab States and sub-Saharan Africa. Yet despite this progress, the participation rate for this level of education remains very low in sub-Saharan Africa at 43%. In addition, one-third of the world’s children still live in countries where lower secondary education is formally considered compulsory but where the commitment is not met. This is especially the case in South and West Asia.  

• Between 1999 and 2009, the GER for girls increased from 69% to 79% in lower secondary and from 43% to 55% in upper secondary education worldwide. However, the Arab States and sub-Saharan Africa still faced serious gender disparities at the lower secondary level, while disparities at the upper secondary level intensified in South and West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The key findings of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2010, http://images2.asercentre.org/aserreports/ASER_2010_PRESS_RELEASE.pdf, are as follows:

• Enrollment: In 2010, ASER found that 96.5% of children in the 6 to 14 age group in rural India is enrolled in school. While 71.1% of these children are enrolled in government schools, 24.3 % are enrolled in private schools.

• Out of school girls: 5.9% of girls in the 11-14 age group are still out of school. However, this percentage has gone down as compared to 6.8% in 2009. In states like Rajasthan (12.1%) and Uttar Pradesh (9.7%), this percentage remains high and shows little change since 2009. Noteworthy in this regard is the performance of Bihar where the percentage of out of school girls and boys in all age groups has been declining steadily since 2005. In 2006, 12.3% of boys and 17.6% girls were out of school in the 11-14 age group. By 2010, these numbers had declined to 4.4% for boys and 4.6% for girls, showing very little difference by gender.

• Rise in private school enrolment: Enrollment in private schools in rural India increased from 21.8% in 2009 to 24.3% in 2010. This number has risen steadily since 2005 when it was 16.3% nationally. Between 2009 and 2010, the southern states have shown a substantial increase in private school enrollments. The percentage of children in private school increased from 29.7% to 36.1% in Andhra Pradesh, from 19.7% to 25.1% in Tamil Nadu, from 16.8% to 20% in Karnataka and from 51.5% to 54.2% in Kerala. Among other states, Punjab showed an increase from 30.5% to 38%. However, this proportion remains low in Bihar (5.2%), West Bengal (5.9%), Jharkhand (8.8%), Orissa (5.4%) and Tripura (2.8%).

• Increasing numbers of five year olds enrolled in school: Nationally, the percentage of five year olds enrolled in schools increased from 54.6% in 2009 to 62.8% in 2010. The biggest increase was visible in Karnataka where the proportion of five year olds enrolled in school increased from 17.1% in 2009 to 67.6 in 2010. Enrollment of five year olds increased substantially between 2009 and 2010 in several other states such as Punjab (68.3% to 79.6%), Haryana (62.8% to 76.8%), Rajasthan (69.9% to75.8%), Uttar Pradesh (55.7% to 73.1%) and Assam (49.1% to 59%).

• Nationally, not much change in reading ability, except in some states: Even after five years in school, close to half of all children are not even at the level expected of them after two years in school. Only 53.4% children in Std V could read a Std II level text.

• Math ability shows a declining trend: On average, there has been a decrease in children’s ability to do simple mathematics. The proportion of Std I children who could recognize numbers from 1-9 declined from 69.3% in 2009 to 65.8% in 2010. Similarly, the proportion of children in Std III who could solve two digit subtraction problems decreased from 39% to 36.5% in the same period. Children in Std V who could do simple division problems also dropped from 38% in 2009 to 35.9% in 2010. Contrary to this trend, Punjab's performance in basic arithmetic has improved over the last few years. For example, the percentage of children in Std II who could recognize numbers up to 100 in 2008 was 56.3%. This number increased to 59.6% in 2009 and to 70.4% in 2010. Similarly, the proportion of Std IV children who could do subtraction increased from 66.9% in 2008 to 81.4% in 2010. The percentage of Std V children who could do division rose from 43.5% in 2008 to 69.8% in 2010.

• Middle school children weak in everyday calculations: In 2010, children in Std V and above were asked a set of questions based on everyday calculations. The tasks included calculations from a menu card, reading a calendar, estimating volume and calculating area. Overall, in Std VIII, three quarters of all children were able to do the calculations based on the menu. About two thirds of all children could answer questions based on a calendar and only half could do the calculations related to area. The questions related to area seemed to be the most difficult for children to solve, even though such problems are usually found in textbooks in Std IV or V. Children in Std VIII in Kerala and Bihar solved the area related questions the best, 79% and 69% respectively.

• Tuition going down for private school children: A clear decrease is seen in the incidence of tuition among children enrolled in private schools across all classes up to Std VIII. This proportion has not changed much among children enrolled in government schools, although in states like Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha, where private school enrollment is low, the proportion of children in Std V enrolled in government schools who take tuition classes is high (West Bengal-75.6%, Bihar-55.5% and Odisha-49.9%).

• RTE compliance: ASER 2010 found that over 60% of the 13,000 schools visited satisfied the infrastructure norms specified by the RTE. However, more than half of these schools will need more teachers. A third will need more classrooms. 62% of the schools visited had playgrounds, 50% had a boundary wall or fence and 90% had toilets. However, toilets were useable in only half of these schools. 70% of schools visited had a separate girls’ toilet, but this facility was useable in only 37% of the schools. 81% schools had a kitchen shed and 72% had drinking water available. The all India percentage of primary schools (Std 1-4/5) with all teachers present on the day of the visit shows a consistent decrease over three years, falling from 73.7% in 2007 to 69.2% in 2009 and 63.4% in 2010. For rural India as a whole, children’s attendance shows no change over the period 2007-2010. Attendance remained at around 73% during this period. But there is considerable variation across states.

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The Annual Status of Education Report 2009,
http://www.asercentre.org/asersurvey/aser09/pdfdata/national%20highlights.pdf show:

• The overall percentage of children (6-14) who are out of school has dropped from 4.3% in 2008 to 4% in 2009.

• Out of school girls in the age group 11 to 14 has dropped from 7.2% in 2008 to 6.8% in 2009. In terms of a decline in percentage points, this decrease is clearly visible in Chhattisgarh (3.8), Bihar (2.8), Rajasthan (2.6), Orissa (2.1), Jammu and Kashmir (1.9). Other than Meghalaya all other states in the North East also show a drop.

• Andhra Pradesh records an increase in the percentage of 11-14 year old girls out of school from 6.6% in 2008 to 10.8% in 2009. So does Punjab from 4.9% in 2008 to 6.3% in 2009.

Private school enrolment hasn’t changed much

• Overall, for 6-14 year olds, between 2008 and 2009 there has been a slight decline in the percentage of children enrolled in private school (0.8 percentage points). However, six states show a decline in private school enrolment of more than 5 percentage points. Of these, Punjab which has one of the highest private school enrollments in the country shows the greatest drop (11.3 percentage points).

Half of India’s five year olds are enrolled in primary school

• In 2009 as in 2008, well over 50% of 5 year olds are enrolled in school.

• Although for the country as a whole, the status of 3 and 4 year olds going to preschool (anganwadi or balwadi) has not changed much since 2008, among the major states Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat record a more than five percentage point increase in the proportion of children going to anganwadi.

Learning levels improving in Std 1

• The foundation of children’s learning is built in early grades. Overall, the percentage of children in Std 1 who can recognize letters or more has increased from 65.1% in 2008 to 68.8% in 2009. Similarly there is an increase in number recognition, with percentage of children recognizing numbers or more increasing from 65.3% in 2008 to 69.3 in 2009.

• For Std 1 children in government schools in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Orissa there is an increase of 10 percentage points or more as compared to last year in their ability to at least recognize letter and numbers up to 9. In Tamil Nadu and Goa, there is an improvement in both reading and maths of more than 5 percentage points. Similar increases are visible in Uttarakhand and Maharashtra in maths and in Karnataka in letter recognition.

No major improvements in learning levels for children in Std 5 except in Tamil Nadu for reading and in a few states in maths

• The all India figure for percentage of all rural children in Std 5 reading text at Std 2 level shows a decline from 56.2% in 2008 to 52.8% in 2009. This means that well over 40% of all rural children in Std 5 in India are at least three grade levels behind.

• In reading, for government school children in Std 5 in Tamil Nadu there is an 8 percentage point increase over 2008 levels. Karnataka and Punjab also show improvements over last year. Hardly any change in other states in reading as compared to 2008.

• In maths, for children in Std 5, for the country as a whole, the ability to do division problems has hardly increased. However 7 states show increases of 5 to 8 percentage points. These states are Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Wide variation in the ability to read and comprehend English across India

• The all India numbers indicate that a quarter of all rural children in Std 5 children can read simple sentences. Of those who can read sentences, over 80% can understand the meaning of the sentence.

• By Std 8, 60.2% of all children can read simple sentences. In all the north-eastern states (except Tripura), Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala more than 80% of children in Std 8 can not only read simple sentences fluently but also understand the meaning.

Increase in tuition classes for all children across all grades

• Nationally, between 2007 and 2009, the percentage of children taking paid tuition increased for every class, in both government and private schools. Only Kerala and Karnataka show a small but consistent decline in the incidence of tuition across government school children in most classes.

• Among government school children, the percentage going to tuition class increases steadily as children move into higher classes: from 17.1% in Std 1 to 30.8% in Std 8.

• Among children attending private schools, almost a quarter (23.3%) take private tuition from Std 1 onwards. The percentage peaks at 29.8% in Std 4.

• Children in West Bengal are by far the most intensive users of paid private tuition in the country; more than half of all Std 1 and almost 90% of all Std 8 government school children take some kind of paid tuition. The incidence of tuition in Bihar and Orissa is also high, with very large numbers of government school children taking tuition, ranging from about a third in Std 1 to well over half in Std 8.

Children’s attendance needs improvement in some states

• Comparisons across the three years (2005, 2007 and 2009) indicate that children’s attendance in school, as observed on a random day in the school year, varies considerably across states. There are states like Bihar where less than 60% of enrolled children are attending on the day of the visit to southern states where average attendance is well above 90%. In addition, states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh need to pay more attention to raising attendance in schools. In most states, on the day of the visit, close to 90% of appointed teachers were present in the school.

Multigrade grouping is widespread

• In 2007 and 2009, surveyors were asked to observe if Std 2 and Std 4 were grouped and sitting together with any other grade. In both years, the incidence of multi-grade groupings was high. At the all-India level close to 50% children in class 2 and 4 were sitting with other classes.

Increase in useable toilets and improvements in availability of drinking water

• All India figures indicate that overall, the percentage of schools with no water or toilet provision is declining over time. Water is available in 75% of government primary schools and 81% of upper primary schools. Useable toilets can be found in over 50% of government schools. Four out of ten government primary schools do not have separate toilets for girls. This number is lower for upper primary schools at 26%. About 12 -15% girls’ toilets are locked and only about 30 - 40% are useable.

Not all schools received the annual school grants for the last school year

• There is considerable variation across states for grants received in the last school year. In Nagaland close to 90% of schools visited had received all their annual grants, where as the percentage of visited schools receiving their grants in the 2008-2009 school year was 60% or below in Jharkhand, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.

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According to Education in India: 2007-08, Participation and Expenditure
NSS 64th Round, (July 2007–June 2008), Report No. 532(64/25.2/1):

• A survey on ‘Participation and Expenditure in Education’ was conducted in NSS 64th round (July 2007 - June 2008). A sample of 445960 persons, from 63318 rural households and 37263 urban households spread over the country, was surveyed.

• The states with relatively high literacy are- Kerala (94%), Assam (84%), Maharashtra (81%)

• The states with relatively low literacy are- Bihar (58%), Rajasthan (62%), Andhra Pradesh (64%)

• Other low-literacy states included Rajasthan (61.7%), Andhra Pradesh (63.5%), Jharkhand (64.6%), Uttar Pradesh (66.2%), J&K (67.7%) and Orissa (68.3%)

• 66% of the country’s adult population (population of age 15 & above) was found to be literate.

• In rural India, 51.2% of the population in the lowest decile class of monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) were not literate. Even in the highest decile class, 22.8% persons were not literate.

• The literacy rate (i.e. percentage of literates) for all ages among rural female (RF), rural male (RM), urban female (UF) and urban male (UM) populations was found to be 51.1%, 68.4%, 71.6% and 82.2% respectively. The corresponding rates two decades ago as estimated in NSS 42nd round (1986-87) were 24.8%, 47.6%, 59.1% and 74.0% respectively.

• 98% of rural households & 99% of urban households have school with primary classes within 2 km

• 79% of rural households & 97% of urban households have school with middle classes within 2 km

• 47% of rural households & 91% of urban households have school with secondary classes within 2 km

• Among persons in age-group 5-29: 46% were not currently enrolled in any educational institution; 2% were currently enrolled but not attending; 52% were currently attending educational institutions

• Among persons aged 5-29 attending education of level primary & above - 49% were in Primary level; 24% were in Middle level; 20% in Secondary/HS level; 7% in above-HS level

• For major course attended: type of education was General in 97.8%, Technical in 1.9%, Vocational in 0.3% cases.

• Net Attendance Ratio (NAR) for Classes I-VIII (All-India): 86%

• Major states with relatively high NAR (I-VIII): Himachal Pr. (96%), Kerala (94%), Tamil Nadu (92%)

• Major states with relatively low NAR (I-VIII): Bihar (74%), Jharkhand (81%), Uttar Pradesh (83%)

• At Primary level – 73% of students in private unaided institutions attended recognized institutions

• At Middle level – 78% of students in private unaided institutions attended recognized institutions

• At Primary level: 71% students got free education (Rural- 80%, Urban- 40%)

• At Middle level: 68% students got free education (Rural- 75%, Urban- 45%)

• At Secondary/ HS level: 48% students got free education (Rural- 54%, Urban- 35%)

• Average annual private expenditure per student at Primary level - Rs. 1413 (Rural- Rs. 826, Urban- Rs.3626)

• Average annual private expenditure per student at Middle level - Rs. 2088 (Rural- Rs.1370, Urban- Rs.4264)

• Average annual private expenditure per student at Secondary/ HS level- Rs. 4351 (Rural- Rs.3019, Urban- Rs.7212)

• Average annual private expenditure per student at Above HS level- Rs. 7360 (Rural- Rs.6327, Urban- Rs.8466)

• Average annual private expenditure per student for Technical Education: Rs.32112 (Rural- Rs.27177, Urban- Rs.34822)

• Average annual private expenditure per student for Vocational Education: Rs.14881 (Rural- Rs.13699, Urban- Rs.17016)

• Average annual private expenditure on education at primary level varied from around Rs. 600-800 in states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa to more than Rs. 3500 in states like Punjab and Haryana.

• For primary education, students in the poorest category in the rural sector incurred an average expenditure of Rs. 352, compared to Rs.3516 for the richest class. In the urban sector the disparity in average educational expenditure was greater still, from Rs. 1035 in the lowest decile class to Rs.13474 in the highest decile class of MPCE.

• For the country as a whole average expenditure on tuition fees (Rs. 1034), examination fee, other fees and payments (Rs. 459) together contributed about half of total expenditure (Rs. 3058) on education. Books and stationery (Rs. 586) was reported to be the next major component of expenditure followed by private coaching (Rs. 354).

• In rural India, tuition fee, together with examination fee and other fees and payments, contributed 40% of total expenditure while another 25% was spent on books and stationery. In the urban sector tuition fee alone contributed 40% of total expenditure.

• In rural areas, the majority of students were attending government schools – 76% of primary level students, 73% of middle level students, and 62% of secondary and HS level students. 

• In urban areas, on the other hand, 59% of students at primary level were in private schools. At middle and secondary/ HS level, 54-55% was in private schools. Government schools accounted for only 35% of primary level students, 40% of middle level students, and 43% of secondary/ HS level students.

• While in states like Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, more than 90% of students at primary level attended schools run by government or local bodies, the corresponding proportion was only 35% in Kerala and 45% in Punjab. In these two states, the majority of students, even at primary level, were in private schools – aided or unaided.

• About 60% of students in government and local-body-run institutions got mid-day meals compared to 16% in aided private institutions and 2% in unaided private only.

• Differentials across institution types were equally marked in case of free/ subsidised books, with 69% of students in government-run schools receiving such books compared to 22% in aided private and only 4% in unaided private institutions.

• Major reasons for Discontinuance/ drop-out: Financial constraints (21%), Child not interested in studies (20%), Unable to cope up or failure in studies (10%), Completed desired level or class (10%), Parents not interested in studies (9%)

• The three most frequently given reasons for non-enrolment were a) parents not interested in education of their children (33.2%), b) financial constraints (21%) and c) education not considered necessary (21.8%).

Note: Net Attendance Ratio (I-VIII)=(Number of persons in age-group 6-13 currently attending Classes I-VIII divided by Estimated population in the age-group I-VIII years) multiplied by hundred 

http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/GMR/pdf/gmr2010/gmr2010-highlights.pdf: 

According to Secondary Education in India: Universalizing Opportunity, January 2009, prepared by Human Development Unit, South Asia Region, The World Bank,

http://www-wd.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2009/05
/18/000333037_20090518003954/Rendered
/PDF/485210v20SR0wh10Box338913B01PUBLIC1.pdf:: 

The Annual Status of Education Report 2008 (Rural)