Only 18.3 % Std V rural students know simple division of arithmetic

--Annual Status of Education Report 2012--

BHUBANESWAR: “Only 18.3 per cent standard V students can able to do a simple division of arithmetic in the schools of rural areas of the State,” revealed the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012 which is an annual survey that aims to provide reliable estimates of children’s enrolment and basic learning levels for each district and State in India.

ASER also makes survey of children’s ability to read simple text and do basic arithmetic in the Government schools. It has revealed many startling truths about the quality of education which is being provided to the students from Standard I to VIII in the Government primary schools in rural India.

The report exposed that only 47 per cent standard V students could able to read standard II level text and 40.9 per cent children from standard VI to VIII could able to read English sentences which automatically raises fingure on the present system of teaching process and Government’s silence over the matter. The report also predicts that more than 50 per cent school children would complete their primary education without acquiring knowledge over their basic reading skill.

According to the report, children in the elementary grades (Std I-VIII) also go to paid private tutors. Usually, children receiving this additional learning support have better learning outcomes than those who do not. In 2012, 46.6 per cent children (Age 6-14) in the State attend paid tuition classes to improve their learning ability.

Enrollment levels for the 6-14 age group continue to be very high in rural Odisha. In 2012, 96 per cent of all children in this age group were enrolled in school. Government school enrollment is very high in the State as 89.6 per cent of children (age 6-14) were enrolled in Government schools.

Odisha is one of the best performing States with regards to the pre schooling of 3-4 year old children. The percentage of four year old children attending pre-school is 97.1 per cent against 76.7 per cent at the national level. Similarly, 26.6 per cent children in between 15-16 age group are not in school which is higher than the national figure stands at 17 per cent.

“The State should give power to the panchayats to look after the schools and to review the teaching processes periodically basis. The guarantee of education is meaningless without satisfactory learning. There are serious implications for the State’s equity and growth if basic learning outcomes do not improve soon,” said State Advisor of Pratham Dhanada Mishra.