The Annual Status of Education Report, popularly known as ASER, has provided crucial data and insights on the status of education in schools across India since 2005. Over the years, the report has earned the credibility of being a touchstone of the quality of school education in India and has played a defining role in bringing the discussion on learning outcomes to the centre stage.
The 17th edition of ASER, released in January this year, was much anticipated on more than one count – firstly, it was the first full-fledged report after a hiatus of four years (the last full ASER was released in 2018) and secondly, it would shed light on the impact of the pandemic on learning outcomes in the country. The report carries good news, since overall school enrolment has improved from 97.2% in 2018 to 98.4% in 2022, but it also confirms the apprehension about the impending fear of a pandemic-induced learning loss. Under both scenarios, we can benefit significantly with the right use of education technology (edtech).
ASER is a nationwide household survey, which covers almost 7 lakh children in over 19,000 villages spread across 616 rural districts in India. The report aims to find the enrolment status of children in the age group of 3-16 years and to assess their basic reading and arithmetic skills. The following findings across recent ASER surveys make a strong case for greater integration of edtech in learning across schools and households in India:
Increased availability of smartphones in households: The ASER 2021 survey, conducted via phone among a representative sample of households from ASER 2018, showed that 68% of children enrolled in schools, both government and private, had a smartphone available at home, implying that the availability of smartphones in households had almost doubled since 2018. This by itself is a positive movement towards digital India. The increasing penetration of smartphones in rural households affords the possibility of reaching more students, even in the far-flung districts, through means of digital education.
Increase in proportion of children taking paid private tuition classes: Results from the ASER 2022 show that even though school enrolment has increased since 2018, the proportion of children in Std I-VIII taking private paid tuitions has also steadily increased from 26.4% in 2018 to 30.5% in 2022. This implies that increased enrolment has not necessarily translated into better learning at school. Recourse to private tuition classes, even though parents might have to pay extra for it, indicates greater desire for attaining excellence. But this also points towards the need for improvement in teaching methods and focus on learnings in schools. The report finds that this trend is more prevalent in states such as UP, Bihar and Jharkhand, with the proportion of children taking private tuitions increasing by as much as 8 percentage points or more over 2018 levels. Several edtech firms offer similar learning support that might be more beneficial and is also free of cost to students from less privileged backgrounds, for instance, the edtech major BYJU’S Education for All initiative.
Steady reduction in the proportion of girls not enrolled in school: The proportion of girl students in the age group of 11-14 years (corresponding roughly to Std VII-IX) who are not enrolled in school has continued to decline since 2006 from 10.3% to 4.1% in 2018. This figure now stands at 2% in 2022. The decline is even sharper among girls in the age group of 15-16 years (corresponding roughly to Std XI), where the proportion stood at more than 20% in 2008, reduced to 13.5% in 2018 and stands at 7.9% in 2022. This implies that a greater number of girls are now enrolled in schools and open to learning. Edtech can play an instrumental role here by bringing this set of previously “missing” students under its purview.
A drop in learning levels across foundational skills of both reading and arithmetic: The report shows that children’s basic reading abilities have dropped to pre-2012 levels, reversing the gradual improvement achieved over the years. This drop is visible across government and private schools, and among both girls and boys. Similarly, children’s basic arithmetic levels have declined over 2018 levels for most grades. These findings validate the “learning loss” that was expected due to the closure of schools during the Covid-19 outbreak. However, this is where high quality content that is engaging and personalised to suit the learning requirement of each student can play a critical role in rapidly rebuilding the ground lost during the pandemic.
Even though the pandemic brought about a significant loss in learning levels, it helped break the so-called “digital barrier” – the resistance to technology traditionally seen at all levels ranging from parents to schools and teachers – as there was no option but to deliver education online. It is now upon us as a country to leverage the best from technology and offer students an education that is “pandemic-proof”. The ASER 2022 gives us great insights into how this evidence can be turned into actionable policy in coming years both by states and the central government.
(Sudhanshu Pandey, IAS retired, is a former Secretary to the Govt of India. Views are personal.)