Pratham ASER Report 2013

The Ninth Annual Survey of Education Report 2013 Provisional has been released, the  pratham Aser report 2013 (rural) have many interesting findings which can be used by policy makers to improve the education system and standards of learning.

The UPA governemnt in 2004 introduced the 2% cess which provides the states much needed money to universalize the elementary education and the passage of RTE act also puts the onus on the government to provide quality education with all facilities.As the Education is in concurrent list both the center and states should work in harmony for the greater good.

In 2013

1. Midday meal scheme is being implemented in 87% of school .
2. Out of school children reduced to 3% ,children of 7-10 years to 2 % and 11-14 is at 5 %
3. Toilets for girls in usable condition is at 53 % and not usable 31 % .(Increase in sanitation facilities can increase enrollment ratio:watch this TED talk).
4. Schools with libraries 77% .

• 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 fifth 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 decreased slightly,from 3.5% in 2012 to 3.3% in 2013.
• For the age group 6 to 14, there has been a steady increase in private school enrollment from 18.7% in 2006 to 29% in 2013. The increase in private school enrollment since last year has been very small, from 28.3% in 2012 to 29% in 2013.
• At the All India level, for Std. III, the proportion of children able to read at least a Std. I level paragraph has risen slightly from 38.8% in 2012 to 40.2% in 2013. This increase is mainly coming from improvements among private school children. Among Std. III students in government schools the proportion of children able to read Std. I level text remains unchanged from 2012 at around 32%.
• Nationally, the proportion of all children in Std. V who can read a Std. II level text remains virtually the same since 2012, at 47%. This proportion decreased each year from 2009 to 2012, dropping from 52.8% in 2009 to 46.9% in 2012. Among Std. V children enrolled in government schools, the percentage of children able to read Std. II level text decreased from 50.3% (2009) to 43.8% (2011) to 41.1% (2013).
• At the All India level, no change is observed since last year in the proportion of Std. III children who are able to solve a two-digit subtraction with borrowing. This level of arithmetic is part of the curriculum for Std. II in most states.
• Among Std. V children in government schools, 20.8% children could do this level of division in 2013. The figure for private schools is 38.9%. In arithmetic, a large fraction of children are lagging several years behind where they are expected to be.
• Teacher attendance holds steady at 85%, but student attendance drops in primary classes from 73.1% in 2012 to 71.8% in 2013.
• The proportion of schools that comply with RTE pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) norms has increased every year,from 38.9% in 2010 to 45.3% in 2013.

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Download the ASER 2013 report (15 MB).