‘A fourth of kids cannot read simple sentences in Tamil Nadu’, says report

A fourth of children (14-18 years) from villages around Madurai, could not read simple sentences in English or Tamil, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2017 ‘Beyond Basics’ issued by a NOG
Image used for representational purpose
Image used for representational purpose

CHENNAI: A fourth of children (14-18 years) from villages around Madurai, could not read simple sentences in English or Tamil, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2017 ‘Beyond Basics’ issued by a NOG Pratham has revealed.The survey was conducted with 1,044 youth in 925 households in 60 villages in TN. This round of the annual survey has been concerned with children in the age bracket of 14 to 18. It provides data on some important dimensions of the preparedness of youth, in rural India, with respect to their ability to lead productive lives as adults.

“The 14-18 year-old age group is very close to income earning age. Hence, while we are looking at activities, abilities, awareness and aspirations, it nudges us to look at the youth in the higher age group and the challenges they face,” the report said. To assess language  and comprehension, the youth were asked to read simple sentences in their own languages or in English. “What is the time? This is a large house. I like to read. She has many books,” are some examples of the basic sentences the kids were surveyed on. It turned out that about 25 per cent could not read and comprehend these sentences. About 15 per cent could not even read individual words, the survey revealed. Nearly 16 per cent could not read even Class II level text. TN scored above average in comparison with the national data, which showed that only about 60 per cent of youth could read sentences. While reading and comprehension did not turn out so bad in State, kids were not very comfortable with basic arithmetic.

Only 47 per cent were able to perform basic division. They were first asked to perform two simple subtractions and if they managed to get it right, they were asked to divide a three-digit number by a one digit number. If they got both the quotient and remainder right, they were marked as capable of performing division. If they did not, they were marked as those capable of subtraction and not even simple division. Children who could not perform even basic subtraction were tested for their ability to identify numbers between 10 and 99. A third could not even perform basic subtraction. The survey also revealed that a third could not comprehend simple instruction on oral re-hydration solution pack.

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