ASER 2012 released at Imphal
By Dr. Syed Ahmed, for TwoCircles.net,
Imphal: The ASER Centre, Imphal released the Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2012 on February 8, 2013 at Imphal. The release function organized at ICM, Lamphelpat, was graced by Opposition Leader of Manipur Legislative Assembly Dr. I. Ibohalbi Singh, Former Member Steering Committee of NER Vision 2020, DONER, GOI and Chairman of Board of Secondary Education, Manipur P. Dhanakumar IPS.
The function started with a power-point presentation of some of the key findings of ASER 2012 for Manipur, which was followed by a discussion session. Some of the alarming situations which the report had presented were discussed and analyzed, and suggestions were brought out to improve the situations.
Releasing the ASER 2012 at Imphal
ASER 2012 reveals that Manipur has the highest private school enrolment of children in the age-group of 6-14 in India. It has steadily increased over the years. The figure increased from 66.1% in 2010 to 67.3% in 2012. The proportion of schools in Manipur which meet the RTE norms is also found quite low. The report shows that the classroom-teacher ratio of 41% of the schools in the State comply with the RTE norms, more than 90% of schools had no drinking water facilities, 55.8% of the schools had no separate provisions for girls toilet, 88.5% of the schools had no library, and mid-day meal was served on the day of visit in just 40.8% of the schools. However, the learning level of the children in the State is quite high compared to other states.
Performance of schools in rural India
ASER 2012 was officially released on January 17, 2013 at a function held at New Delhi by the Union HRD Minister Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju.
At the All-India level the report discloses that enrollment of children in the age-group of 6-14 continues to be very high. However, the proportion of out-of-school children has increased, especially among girls in the age-group of 11-14. Over 96% of all children in the age-group of 6-14 years are enrolled in school.
The report shows that private school enrollment has been rising steadily in almost all the States since 2006. The enrolment of children in the age-group of 6-14 in private schools rose from 18.7% in 2006 to 28.3% in 2012. More than 40% of children in the age-group of 6-14 in J&K, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP and Meghalaya are enrolled in private schools. Highest rate of private school enrolment is in Manipur and Kerala with 67.3% and 60% respectively, while Tripura with just 3% and Odisha with 6.2% have the lowest rates. The report also notes that since 2009, private school enrollment in rural areas has been rising at an annual rate of about 10%. If this trend continues, the report noted, by 2018 India will have 50% children in rural areas enrolled in private schools.
The report reveals that reading levels of children have declined over the years. More than half of all children in Std. V are at least three grade levels behind where they should be. The reported noted that in 2010, 46.3% of all children in Std. V could not read a Std. II level text, it further increased to 51.8% in 2011 and then to 53.2% in 2012. The proportion of Std. III children who cannot read Std. I level text has also increased steadily from 53.4% in 2009 to 54.4% in 2010 and further to 61.3% in 2012.
Similarly the arithmetic skills of the children have also declined. The report reveals that in 2010, of all children enrolled in Std. V, 29.1% could not solve simple two-digit subtraction problems with borrowing. This proportion increased to 39% in 2011 and further to 46.5% in 2012. The proportion of all children enrolled in Std. V who could not do division problems has increased from 63.8% in 2010 to 72.4% in 2011 to 75.2% in 2012.
ASER 2012 also assessed the basic English reading and comprehension levels of the rural children. At the all-India level, the report shows that 48.9% children enrolled in Std. V could read English words or more, and 22.5% could read simple English sentences. Among all children enrolled in Std. VIII, 47% could read sentences. Of those who could read words or sentences, well above 60% could convey the meaning in their own language.
ASER 2012 reveals that private inputs into children’s education, such as private schooling and private tutoring, are widespread. The influence of these inputs in children’s ability to read or to do arithmetic is clear. Children receiving this additional support have better learning outcomes than those who do not. In 2012, 23.3% of the children in age-group of 6-14 receive private tuition. In Bengal 73% of the children in the age-group receive paid tuition, followed by Tripura with 70.3%; lowest is in Chattisgarh with 2.8%, followed by Rajasthan with 5% and Mizoram with 5.5%.
ASER 2012 shows that facilities and infrastructure of the rural schools are gradually improving. In 2010 38.9% of the rural schools were found in compliance with the RTE norms on pupil-teacher ratio. This figure has risen to 42.8% in 2012. The proportion of schools having usable toilets has increased from 47.2% in 2010 to 56.5% in 2012, while the number of schools having usable girls toilet increased from 32.9% in 2010 to 48.2%.The proportion of schools having kitchen shed for cooking mid-day meal has slightly increased from 82.1% in 2010 to 84.4% in 2012. The number of schools with drinking water provision has also increased slightly from 72.7% in 2010 to 73% in 2012. However, number of schools with play-ground has decreased from 62% in 2010 to 61% in 2012.