Government school enrollment declines: ASER report reveals reversal post-COVID

The increase in government school enrolment seen during the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have reversed, with the proportion of children aged 6-14 years enrolled in government schools nearly back to the 2018 levels, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) released on Tuesday.

Learning Recovery Post-Pandemic

The report also noted that not only has there 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. The crucial report found that more than 82 per cent of children in the 14-16 age group know how to use a smartphone, but only 57 per cent of them use it for educational purposes.

Trends in Private School Enrollment

"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.

Government School Enrollment Statistics

"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 noted.

Survey Methodology and Reach

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 is a nationwide rural household survey that reached 649,491 children in 17,997 villages across 605 rural districts in India. Facilitated by an NGO, "Pratham," a local organisation or institution conducted the survey.

"At the all-India level, the proportion of children in Class 3 who are able to read at Class 2 level rose slowly from 23.6 per cent in 2014 to 27.3 per cent in 2018 and then fell drastically to 20.5 per cent in 2022. Two years later, we have a full recovery with the proportion of Class-3 children reading fluently at 27.1 per cent.

Improvements Across Grades

"We see a similar picture in Class 4, with the proportion of Class-5 children who can read a Class-2 level text rising from 48 per cent in 2014 to 50.5 per cent in 2018, then falling to 42.8 per cent in 2022 and finally recovering to 48.8 per cent in 2024," the report said.

Some states have done very well and surpassed their pre-pandemic learning levels, while others are yet to recover fully. Nevertheless, almost all states have shown improvements compared to 2022.

Digital Literacy Assessment

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.

The report found that the proportion of "underage" children (aged five years or below) in Class I is decreasing over time. "In 2018, this figure was 25.6 per cent; in 2022 it stood at 22.7 per cent; and in 2024, nationally, the percentage of underage children in Class I was at its lowest ever at 16.7," it said.

(Except for the headline, nothing has been changed by All India News Network in the PTI copy.)