BHUBANESWAR: Around 22 per cent of adolescents and teens in the age group of 14 -18 years from Sambalpur cannot read Class-II level text while only around 30 per cent can do everyday calculations. These were revealed in the findings of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) survey released on Wednesday.
Titled ‘Beyond Basics’, ASER 2023 surveyed 34,745 youngsters, mainly in rural India, enrolled in government and private institutions in 28 districts across 26 states. In Odisha, the survey was conducted in Sambalpur district.
The report revealed 78.1 per cent of youth aged 14-18 were enrolled in some formal education institution and 69.2 per cent in government educational institutions. While 21.9 per cent were not enrolled anywhere, the proportion was higher among those aged 17-18 compared to 14-16. Around 5.2 per cent were enrolled in some form of vocational training and 32.6 per cent engaged in some work (other than household work) for at least 15 days in the month prior to the survey.
While 77.5 per cent of the youth could read at least a Class-II level text in the reading test, 35.9 per cent could do at least division in the arithmetic test and 53.6 per cent could read sentences in the English test.
Of those who could read Class-I level text (ASER reading test), 56.4 per cent could read the text on a medicine packet and answer at least three out of four questions about it. Of those who could do subtraction (ASER arithmetic test), 50.1 per cent could do a task for managing a budget, 28.5 per cent could apply a discount and 8.5 per cent calculate repayment.
Usage of smartphones among youth was also evaluated. The study found that 80.8 per cent of the youth of Sambalpur had a smartphone at home. While 89.9 per cent youth were able to use smartphones, the percentage was 93.5 per cent among males and 86.7 per cent among females.
Around 49.3 per cent males had their own devices compared to 28.8 per cent of their female counterparts. Similarly, 68.5 pc did at least one education related activity on their devices in the week prior to the survey compared to 89.8 per cent who used social media.
While a high proportion of youth used social media, a far smaller proportion were aware of safety features.
edu-status
34,745 youths surveyed by ASER
78.1 pc youth aged 14-18 enrolled in some formal education institution
21.9 per cent youth not enrolled anywhere
80.8 pc youth of Sambalpur had a smartphone at home