Basic reading ability and arithmetic skills have dropped at the primary level in schools inAssam, with not even 25% students in the age group of five to 16 being able to read simple English sentences, revealed the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022 published on school education
in the country.
ASER last assessed children’s ability in English in 2016. In Assam, 24.3% of the Class V children can read simple English sentences in the 2022 survey. The proportion, however, registered a marginal increase from 22.3% in the 2016 survey. In Assam, of the 50.6% of children in Class VIII, who can read sentences in English, 69.6% of them can also tell the meaning of the sentences.
The survey byPratham Education Foundationestimated Learning loss between 2018 and 2022, showing diverse outcomes. ASER 2022 surveyors went to 26 districts in rural Assam where a total of 15,413 households and 25,502 children in the age group of three to 16 were surveyed.
In Assam, the Percentage of children in Class III in government or private schools, who can read Class II level reading matter, has dropped
from 19.9% in 2018 to 17.9% in 2022. Nationally, too, the corresponding figure at the all-India level has declined from 27.3% in 2018 to 20.5% in 2022.
The survey showed nationally, 69.6% of children enrolled in Class VIII in government or private schools, can read at least basic text in 2022, a fall from 73% in 2018. But a reverse trend was visible in Assam in this category. The corresponding figure has increased from 60.8% in 2018 to 68.8% in 2022.
The All-India figure for children in Class III who are able to at least do subtraction dropped from 28.2% in 2018 to 25.9% in 2022. Steep drops of more than 10% points have been visible inMizoram(from 58.8% to 42%). For Assam this figure has dropped from 29.8% in 2018 to 24.5% in 2022.