Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023 – Explained Pointwise

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023 titled ‘Beyond Basics’ has been released by the Pratham Foundation. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023, focuses on 14-18 year olds in rural areas. This age group that is critical to India’s unlocking its demographic dividend.

What is the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)? What is the methodology used?

ASER- The ASER report is facilitated by Pratham Education Foundation since 2005. The ASER report examines the schooling status and foundational learning of children across districts and states of rural India. Originally it was an annual publication but after 2016, it has become a biennial report. ASER reports are usually referred to by the government while formulating policies.

ASER 2023 Methodology- The ASER 2023 is based on a survey conducted in 28 districts across 26 states, reaching out to 34,745 youths in the 14-18 age group. One rural district was surveyed in each major state, except for Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, where two such districts were surveyed.

The youths were surveyed on 4 points-
a. Basic reading, maths and English abilities
b. Application of basic skills to everyday calculations
c. Reading and understanding written instructions
d. Financial calculations that need to be done in real life

What are the positive and negative findings of Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023?

Positive findings in terms of enrolment ratios

1. More students transiting to secondary education- ASER 2023 notes that ‘today more children in India have more years of schooling than ever before’. Apprehensions that the pandemic-induced economic distress would result in older children dropping out of school have been belied. 

2. High enrolment rate- Overall, 86.8% of 14-18-year-olds are enrolled in an educational institution. The percentage of youth not enrolled is 3.9% for 14-year-old youth and 32.6% for 18-year-olds. Most of the people in this age group were enrolled in the Arts/Humanities streams.

Challenges and failings of the Education system

1. Foundational skill gaps in reading and arithmetic abilities- About 25% cannot read Grade 2 text, and over 50% face difficulties with arithmetic skills expected by Grade 5, highlighting a deficit in foundational learning.

2. Poor Quality Labour force- This deficit in foundational numeracy and foundational skill gap significantly impacts the quality of the country’s labour force.

3. Underutilisation of Digital technology- Despite the high availability of smartphones in rural households (95%), their use for educational purposes is limited.

4. Balancing Academics and Family Responsibilities- Most of the youths face compounded challenges as they need to balance academic requirements with responsibilities, such as working in family farms. These responsibilities impact the aspirations of youth.

5. Gender Disparity in Reading and Arithmetic Skills- Males performed better than females in arithmetic and English reading across most of the tasks that test the ability to apply basic numeracy and reading skills. For Ex- Only 41.1% females were able to tell the time compared to 51% males. Fewer females (28.1%) are in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics stream (STEM) stream as compared to males (36.3%).

6. Gender Disparity in Digital Skills- 43.7% of males own smartphones as compared to 19.8% of females. Across all phone-related tasks assigned to respondents, boys outperformed girls.

7. Vocational training- The survey shows a low enrolment in vocational training, with only 5.6% of young people participating.

What are the reasons behind the low foundational skill gaps as highlighted by the ASER 2023?

1. Inadequate Teacher-student ratio and teacher’s Training- Almost 8% of India’s schools have only one teacher (2023 data). Teachers lack training in modern pedagogical methods, and struggle to employ interactive and engaging teaching techniques. This has impacted students’ understanding of basic concepts of arithmetic and reading ability.

2. Insufficient Learning Resources- Limited access to textbooks and learning materials have hindered students’ ability to practice and reinforce foundational skills outside the classroom. For ex- Lack of reading materials affects students’ language development.

3. Socioeconomic Disparities- Students from lower-income families face challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, lack of educational support at home and limited access to extracurricular activities that enhance their foundational skills.

4. Language Barriers- Students in regions where the language of instruction is not their native language face challenges in understanding and expressing themselves. For ex- Students from tribal regions, face English reading barriers.

5. Outdated Curriculum- School Curriculum doesn’t incorporate digital literacy and have left students unprepared with digital skills to be a part of the modern workforce.

6. Assessment Practices- Assessments have primarily focussed on memorization rather than critical thinking, which has led to students prioritizing rote learning over understanding foundational concepts.

What are the different government initiatives taken for the improvement of school education?

What are the recommendations of ASER 2023 to improve foundational skills?

1. Devolution of central and state grants to local bodies – The Central and State grants should be disaggregated gram panchayat-wise and urban local body-wise. This will ensure direct transfer of untied funds to schools.

2. Community management of schools- Schools must be community-managed, and the State government should primarily act as the financing agent. The private sector should be encouraged to adopt schools to improve their quality. For ex- The Mid-Day Meal responsibility should be handed over to the village-level self-help group (SHG) of women.

3. Regular school-level interactions with parents- Teachers must build a relationship with every household to ensure children’s care and learning. Parental involvement can greatly improve learning outcomes. For ex-The Nipun Bharat Mission to ensure oral and written literacy and numeracy should become a people’s movement like the Total Literacy Campaign.

4. Leveraging smartphones to improve learning outcomes- Smartphones can be used to deliver online modules to students to supplement classroom teaching. For ex- Interactive online tests should be designed in the form of games for the students.

5. Innovative learning methods- Indoor and outdoor sports, cultural activities, play-way learning items, video films, and sound boxes must be used to supplant learning.

6. Development of Public libraries- Public libraries should be developed to address the scarcity of learning resources. For ex- The Karnataka government has done commendable work on strengthening its public libraries, which has also positively impacted school learning outcomes.