The basic reading and arithmetic skills of children in the age group 3-16 in rural parts of the southern states in India dropped after the pandemic.
According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022 survey, only three out of 10 Class V students can read Telugu text from Standard II in Telangana while one out of four students of Class III can do subtraction.
Half the students of Class VIII in Karnataka can read English sentences, while only three out of 10 Class V students can read Kannada text.
According to the ASER, students in many south Indian states can read English text more easily than text in their native languages.
Kerala has seen a huge decline in reading and arithmetic skills compared to other south Indian states.
“The biggest reason for the decline in reading or arithmetic skills is the pandemic. Schools were closed. Even when they opened, it was mostly online classes in the beginning. To access this, the needed mobile devices and stable internet connection were unavailable,” state head of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana of Pratham Education Foundation Pendem Rambabu told South First.
He added during classroom teaching, teachers used to properly focus on each student. “But due to the pandemic, there was a disconnect between teachers and students,” said Rambabu.
The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is a nationwide survey of rural education in India. The survey focuses on the status of basic reading and arithmetic skills of children in the age group 3-16. The ASER 2022 report is compared with ASER 2018.
The non-profit organisation Pratham Education Foundation conducts the survey every year in all the country’s rural districts.
Across the state, girls are better at reading native text and English and doing arithmetic than boys in every class.
Also, private school students can read the texts better than government school students.
“There are several reasons for girls outperforming boys. There are community restrictions. In villages, girl students are not allowed to roam around or hang out outside their homes while boys go out, and play with friends roaming around. Out of homely work, they have the education to see the outside world’s perspective. And that they focus on study and perform better than boys,” said Rambabu.
“Also, governments are putting forward many schemes for girls. They get incentives as well as scholarships from the government this encourages them to focus on their studies and that’s why we are able to see girl students performing better than boys,” said Tamil Nadu ASER team Research Manager G Kumeresan told South First.
Also read: Drop in school dropout rate in rural India despite Covid
Andhra Pradesh
When it comes to reading and arithmetic skills, the state witnessed a drop in every category. The reading skills were tested in Telugu.
However, the students have better reading skills in English than in native Telugu.
Reading skills
Only 10.4 percent of Class III students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 22.4 percent in 2018.
Only 36.4 percent of Class V students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 59.7 percent in 2018.
Also, only 66.4 percent of Class VIII students in 2022 can read the text of Class II compared to 78.2 percent in 2018.
However, 2.7 percent of students of Class VIII can’t even read the alphabet at the Class II level.
Arithmetic Skills
While 29.5 percent of Class III students in 2022 can do subtraction as compared to 38.4 percent in 2018.
Also, only 29.6 percent of Class V students in 2022 can do division as compared to 39.3 percent in 2018.
The only good improvement has been noticed in Class VIII students. Around 51.7 percent of Class VIII students in 2022 can do division as compared to 47.6 in 2018.
Reading and comprehension in English
The reading and comprehension in English also dropped among the students in the state, but was better than in the native language.
Around 15.1 percent of Class III students can read a sentence in English.
Around 42.5 percent of students in Class V can read a sentence in English which has dropped from 47.2 percent in 2016.
Around 69.8 percent of students in Class VIII can read a sentence in English as compared to 71.5 percent in 2016.
“Over the past few years, government schools in the Telugu-speaking states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were converted into English medium schools. Also, private education institutions are growing in these states, and the students who recently enrolled in government schools jumped from private to government schools due to the pandemic. That’s why they are able to read English,” said Rambabu.
He added that the characters of native languages such as Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, or Malayalam were more complex than English.
“English is learned faster than the native languages due to less complexity, and that’s why students are more likely to read English than the native language,” said Rambabu.
Karnataka
In Karnataka, also, when it came to reading native Kannada and English, and arithmetic skills, the state witnessed a drop in most categories.
Reading skills
Only 8.6 percent of Class III students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 19.2 percent in 2018.
Only 30.2 percent of class V students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 41.3 percent in 2018.
The reading skills of Class VIII students improved in 2022 as compared to 2018.
Around 59.9 percent of Class VIII students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 70.3 percent in 2018
Arithmetic Skills
While 20.7 percent of Class III students in 2022 can do subtraction as compared to 20.7 percent in 2018.
Also, only 13.3 percent of Class V students in 2022 can do division as compared to 20.5 percent in 2018.
Around 36 percent of Class VIII students in 2022 can do division as compared to 39 in 2018.
Reading and comprehension in English
The reading and comprehension in English have also dropped among the students in Karnataka.
The students in the state are better at reading in their native language than in English.
Only 5.5 percent of Class III students can read a sentence in English. Around 19.7 percent of students in Class V can read a sentence in English which has dropped from 24.8 percent in 2016.
Around 48 percent of students in Class VIII can read a sentence in English as compared to 49.7 percent in 2016.
Kerala
The state which is known for its robust education system also has witnessed a drop in reading and arithmetic skills.
Reading skills
The reading skills of the students were tested in the native Malayalam language.
Around 38.8 percent of Class III students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 52.3 percent in 2018.
Around 64.7 percent of class V students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 46 percent in 2018.
The reading skills of Class VIII students also declined in 2022.
Around 83.7 percent of Class VIII students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 89.6 percent in 2018.
Arithmetic Skills
Only 36.6 percent of ClassIII students in 2022 can do subtraction as compared to 47.7 percent in 2018.
Also, only 26.8 percent of Class V students in 2022 can do division as compared to 43.5 percent in 2018.
Around 44.3 percent of Class VIII students in 2022 can do division as compared to 51.8 in 2018.
Reading and comprehension in English
Reading and comprehension in English have picked up amongst the students in the state.
Also reading and comprehension in English is better than in the native language Malayalam.
Around 44.4 percent of Class III students can read a sentence in English.
Around 68.7 percent of students in class V can read a sentence in English which has increased by a few points from 68.5 percent in 2016.
Around 85.8 percent of students in Class VIII can read a sentence in English as compared to 79.6 percent in 2016.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu which is known for its arithmetic skills has also witnessed a drop in as compared to 2018. The state has also witnessed a drop in reading and comprehension in both the native Tamil language as well as in English.
Reading skills
Around 4.8 percent of Class III students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 10.2 percent in 2018. Only 25.2 percent of class V students in 2022 can read the text of class II as compared to 77.3 percent in 2018.
The reading skills of Class VIII students also declined in 2022. Around 63 percent of Class VIII students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 73.2 percent in 2018.
Arithmetic Skills
Only 10.4 percent of Class III students in 2022 can do subtraction as compared to 26 percent in 2018.
Also, only 14.9 percent of Class V students in 2022 can do division as compared to 25.4 percent in 2018.
Around 44.4 percent of Class VIII students in 2022 can do division as compared to 51.8 in 2018.
Reading and comprehension in English
The reading and comprehension in English have dropped among the students in the state.
Also, students were better at reading in native Tamil than in English.
“The medium of teaching and instruction in most of the rural schools in Tamil Nadu is Tamil.
Even when the textbooks are in Tamil, but to make students understand the concept easily, the teachers teach them in Tamil.
Also, when students go beach to their homes, most of the conversations happen in Tamil. That’s why students are good with Tamil than English in the state,” said G Kumeresan.
Only 5.7 percent of Class III students can read a sentence in English. Around 24.5 percent of students in Class V can read a sentence in English which has dropped from 37.2 percent in 2016.
Around 57.8 percent of students in Class VIII can read a sentence in English as compared to 58.8 percent in 2016.
Telangana
Telangana has also witnessed a drop in reading in the native language Telugu as well as in English and arithmetic skills.
Reading skills
Around 5.1 percent of Class III students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 18 percent in 2018.
Only 31.7 percent of Class V students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 40.7 percent in 2018.
The reading skills of Class VIII students have also declined in 2022.
Around 61.8 percent of Class VIII students in 2022 can read the text of Class II as compared to 69 percent in 2018.
Arithmetic Skills
Only 27.1 percent of Class III students in 2022 can do subtraction as compared to 34.3 percent in 2018.
Also, only 22.7 percent of Class V students in 2022 can do division as compared to 27.1 percent in 2018.
Around 44.6 percent of Class VIII students in 2022 can do division as compared to 48.3 percent in 2018.
Reading and comprehension in English
The reading and comprehension in English have dropped among the students in the state. Also, students are better at reading in English than in native Telugu.
Only 10.7 percent of Class III students can read a sentence in English.
Around 34.9 percent of students in Class V can read a sentence in English which has dropped from 44.1 percent in 2016.
Around 63.2 percent of students in Class VIII can read a sentence in English as compared to 68 percent in 2016.
ASER survey
The data collected through the ASER survey is used to create a report which is widely used by government and non-government organisations, researchers and policymakers to understand the state of education in rural India and to inform policy decisions.
The 2022 edition of the survey – done at a national level after 4 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic – reached 616 districts and 19,060 villages, covering 3,74,544 households and 6,99,597 children in the age group of 3 to 16 years.
