LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, Jan 18: As per the recent Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) released on Wednesday by NGO Pratham, about 45.3 per cent of children studying in classes 1 to 8 in private and government schools in rural areas of Jharkhand need and take private tuition. The students pay fees for this tuition.
Notably, there has been a tremendous increase in the figures of students taking tuition during or after the Covid 19. In 2018, where 36.9 per cent of students from classes 1 to 8 would take private tuition, in 2022 this figure has increased to 45.3 per cent.
Pratham, an NGO that works towards the provision of quality education to underprivileged children releases ASER, which is biennially published by the NGO. The ASER is a citizen-led household survey that provides nationally representative estimates of children’s schooling status and their foundational reading and mathematic skills. Notably, the report is based on a survey of children aged 3 to 16 living in 14,335 households in 720 villages in 24 districts of Jharkhand between 2018 and 2022 at the national level.
The report makes an assessment of the state’s rural-level education status. In this, a survey has been done on children’s ability to read and understand mathematics and English, the status of enrollment in government schools, and the status of facilities in schools, among others.
Enrollment and Attendance
Net Enrollment: There has been an increase in the total enrollment for children in the age group of 6 to 14 years. It was 97.4 per cent in 2018, which increased to 98.3 per cent in 2022. At the national level, this figure is 98.4 per cent.
Enrollment in government schools: In Jharkhand, this number was 78 per cent in 2018, which increased to 83.3 per cent in 2022. At the national level, this figure is 72.9 per cent.
The proportion of disenrolled girls: In Jharkhand in 2008, 3.4 per cent of girls in the age group of 11-14 were disenrolled, while the number went down to only 1.2 per cent in 2022. At the national level, this figure is 2 per cent. At the same time, the figure for girls aged 15-16 was 11.2 per cent in 2018 and 5.2 per cent in 2022.
Enrollment in Play Schools (Early Childhood Education): In 2022, a total of 77 per cent of 3-year-old children are enrolled in play schools, which is 10.1 per cent more than that in 2018. At the same time, a total of 72 per cent of children in the 3-5 age group were enrolled in 2018, while the number has increased to 68.2 per cent in 2022.
Basic facilities for reading and mathematics
A. Basic Reading Ability of Children (Government and Private Schools)
Class 3: In 2018, 18.7 per cent of Class 3 children could read a Class 2 text, which has now dropped to 14.2 per cent in 2022. At the national level, this figure is 20.5 per cent.
Class 5: In 2018, 34.3 per cent of Class 5 children could read a Class 2 text, which increased to 35.6 per cent in 2022. At the national level, this figure is 42.8 per cent.
Class 8: In 2018, 66.1 per cent of Class 8 children could read a Class 2 text, which increased to 65.1 per cent in 2022. At the national level, this figure is 69.6 per cent.
B. Children’s Basic Math Level
Class 3: Only 22.5 per cent of Class 3 children in 2018 could do subtraction, which has gone up to 22.6 per cent in 2022. At the national level, this figure is 25.9 per cent.
Class 5: In 2018, only 19 per cent of Class 5 children could do division equations, which is 24.5 per cent in 2022. At the national level, this figure is 25.6 per cent.
Class 8: Only 44.4 per cent of Class 8 children in 2018 could solve a division problem, which has increased to 45.6 per cent in 2022. At the national level, this figure is 44.7 per cent.
C. English ability of children
Grade 5: Only 14.8 per cent of Grade 5 children could read simple English in 2016, which has improved marginally to 15.3 per cent in 2022. At the national level, this figure is 24.5 per cent.
Class 8: In 2016, the figure of students falling under this category was 33.7 per cent, however, it has increased to 33.7 per cent. At the national level, this figure is 46.7 per cent.
The number of children in class 3 who are able to talk in English and form a sentence is 46.3 per cent in 2022 and the number of such children in class 8 is 56.5 per cent in 2022.
Observation of Schools (Inspection)
The ASER 2022 has observed government schools with a total of 677 primary classes in Jharkhand.
Low Enrollment Schools and Multi-grade Classrooms: Jharkhand has seen an increase in the number of such classes.
For example, in 2018, a total of 62.4 per cent of Class 2 students were part of one or more classes, which increased to 65.5 per cent in 2022.
Facilities in schools
In Jharkhand, there has been improvement in the condition of the facilities present in schools under all indicators related to the Right to Education Act. These include
A. Schools serving mid-day meals: This figure was 79 per cent in the year 2018, which increased to 89.4 per cent in the year 2022.
B. Schools using library books: This figure was 50.5 per cent in the year 2018, which increased to 59.1 per cent in the year 2022.
C. Schools with electricity connection: This figure was 78.4 per cent in the year 2018, which increased to 92.4 per cent in the year 2022.
D. Playground in schools: In the year 2018, this figure was 39.1 per cent, which increased to 43.2 per cent in the year 2022.