CHENNAI: More than 50 per cent of students studying in third standard cannot read textbooks meant for first standard, according to the Annual Status of Education Report released on Wednesday. According to the report, published by nonprofit agency Pratham, the proportion of Grade 3 students who can read Grade 1 books has increased marginally to 42.5 per cent from 40.2 per cent in 2014. However, the quality seems to have further degraded in the higher classes. The proportion of students in Grade 5 who can read books meant for Grade 2 has decreased to 47.8 per cent from 48.1 per cent in 2014.
The regional numbers, however, paint a more stark story. For instance, just a meagre 7 per cent of Class 3 students in Uttar Pradesh government schools can read textbooks meant for Class 2. The figure is much higher in Kerala (38%) and Himachal Pradesh (45%). Similarly, in states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, more children in government schools fare better than private schools, a surprising trend considering the demand for private schools.
This is not the first time the shocking state of affairs has been highlighted by the report. In its first study in 2005, the report found 51 per cent students in Grade 5 could read books meant for Grade 2. The numbers have steadily dropped since then, over the last 11 years, indicating the deteriorating quality of primary education in the country.
The Right to Education Act does not seem to have done much to improve the quality either.
“The declining learning levels after the enforcement of RTE was linked by many critics to the formalisation of the automatic promotion policy. More recently, as a new education policy came up for discussion, the demand that ‘children must be failed if they do not learn’ started making the rounds. We may be seeing the beginning of a major error in the opposite direction,” says Madhav Chavan, president of Pratham.
