Mumbai: 36% youth of age group 14-18 couldn’t name the country’s capital and 21% could not answer the state they live in, findings that expose the pathetic state of education in rural India. Shown a map of India, 14% couldn’t identify it.
The ASER 2016 survey was conducted across Maharashtra in 33 rural districts, 973 villages and 19,430 households.
It was conducted by 11 NGOs, 23 colleges and various universities in the state.
As many as 26,393 school children participated in the survey. In 2016, the percentage of children enrolled in grade III in government schools in the state who can read Grade II level text is 41.2 per cent and the percentage of children enrolled in Grade III in private schools who can read Grade II level text is 38.8 per cent.
The performance of Grade-III children in government schools who can read Grade-II level text is better than performance of Grade III children in private schools, the report stated.
It shows that reading levels in higher grades have also increased. In 2014, the percentage of children enrolled in Grade V who can read a Grade II level text was 53.5 per cent, it has increased to 62.5 per cent in 2016, the report said.
Rane said, “Many times we are criticised for selecting low number of sample survey. But our number of samples are actually more than the sample size of National Sample Survey. Hence, we are trying to get the picture closer to reality.”
“Some of the reports are a cause of concern as 25 per cent students from Grade VIII who could not read Grade II level text. We still have to work more,” she said.
“In 2014, the percentage of children enrolled in Grade V in government schools in Maharashtra who can read Grade II level text was 51.7 per cent. In 2016, the percentage has increased by 11 per cent to 62.7 per cent,” the report said.
As far as national figures are concerned, in 2014 the percentage of all children enrolled in Grade V in government schools who can read Grade II level text was 42.2 per cent. In 2016, the percentage has decreased by 0.6 per cent at 41.6 per cent, stated the report.
In 2016, the percentage of all children in Grade I who can read letters or more is 60.7 per cent, however nationally the percentage stands at is 53.9 per cent.
Siasat Web Team with PTI inputs