Enrollment has seen improvement and more students can now carry out basic subtraction and division. ASER-2018 Rural India report also says that in Punjab, girls are performing way better than boys in all age groups.
The enrollment in schools has registered an improvement while the number of children in upper classes who can read basic Class 2 text and solve elementary mathematics problems (division and subtraction) has climbed up in Punjab, according to the government’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) for Rural India 2018 released by the Pratham Education Foundation Tuesday. The numbers in Punjab, however, still continue to be poor even though they are better than the national pan-India results average. The report states that 60 per cent children from Class 3, 28 per cent from Class 5, and 15 per cent from Class 8 could not read the basic Class 2 text in Punjabi.
Punjabi is a compulsory subject in government schools of Punjab from Classes 1 to 10. The silver lining for the Punjab is that these numbers are better than the national average according to which 73 per cent children from Class 3, 50 per cent from Class 5, and 28 per cent from Class 8 could not read basic Class 2 text in regional languages. In Punjab, the basic reading levels in Punjabi for Class 8 children has in fact declined. Now (in 2018), 85 per cent students can read Class 2 text as against 86 per cent in 2016.
The ASER Rural India survey covered 20 districts in Punjab in which 12,799 children (in the age group 3-16) from 596 villages were surveyed in 11,865 households. Children — both from government and private schools — in the age group of 5-16 years were tested in reading and arithmetic abilities. Also, 554 government schools were surveyed for basic facilities. As per the results, only 36.4 per cent of Class 3 children in government schools of Punjab and 41.8 per cent from private schools could read basic Class 2 text. This number has improved significantly since 2010 when only 21 per cent of Class 3 children from government schools could read Class 2 text.
For private schools, the figure stood at 24.8 per cent in 2010. Over 30 per cent Class 5 students in government schools still cannot read basic Class 2 text while 26 per cent from private schools failed on this parameter. In arithmetic and basic calculations testing, children in Punjab, on an average, performed way better than their counterparts across India and recorded a slight improvement over the 2016 results. However, still more than 50 per cent students in Class 3 could not do basic subtraction of two-digit numbers. Also, 23 per cent children from Class 5 and 17 per cent from Class 8 could not solve subtraction sums.
A whopping 68 per cent Class 4 students and 50 per cent from Class 5 were unable to do division sums, says the report. The numbers, however, are better than 2016 when not even 39 per cent students from Classes 4 to 8 were able to solve division problem. The percentage stands at nearly 50 per cent for 2018.
ASER-2018 Rural India report also says that in Punjab, girls are performing way better than boys in all age groups. While 62.5 per cent girls aged 8-10 could read basic class II text, only 47.4 per cent boys could do it. In age group 11-13 and 14-16 also, more girls could read basic text compared to boys. While 60 per cent girls in the age group 11-13 years could do division sums, only 53 per cent boys could do it. However, in the age group of 8-10 years, results for division sums for both boys and girls are very poor. Only 25 per cent boys and 33 per cent girls (8-10 years) could solve division sums in Punjab. This again is still better than national average of 15.7 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.
It was also tested that if children can apply their classroom learning in daily lives or not and results have been shocking. Almost half of children (aged 14-16 years) who were able to do division sums could not calculate time and 72 per cent failed in calculating discount on a product. Similarly, 70 per cent children in the same age group who could do subtraction failed to calculate time and 85 per cent failed to calculate discount.
There has been a significant improvement in enrollment in schools in Punjab, says the report. In 2018, 98.9 per cent of children who were surveyed were found admitted to schools as against 98.5 per cent in 2014. For children in the age group of 15-16 years who were out of schools in Punjab, the number has decreased from 11 per cent in 2006 to 5 per cent now.
The survey also included visit to 544 government schools in Punjab, which were checked on several parameters including playgrounds, libraries, mid-day meals, and toilets. The report states that only 44 per cent schools surveyed in Punjab had library books available for reading. In 2010, almost 66 per cent and in 2016, 49 per cent schools had library books for children. On other parameters, 93 per cent schools were found providing mid-day meal (based on day of visit).
Compared to 49 per cent schools having usable girls toilet in 2010, now 83 per cent have such facility. The overall toilet provision in schools has also increased from 61 per cent in 2010 to 89.5 per cent in 2018.
Prabhsimran Singh, coordinator, Punjab, Pratham Education Foundation, said, “In a nutshell, the reading and arithmetic levels in Punjab have improved in past two years but then we have not even reached the halfway mark. If 85 per cent of Class 8 children can read basic Class 2 text, it is not something great and we have to reach a level where they can read text of higher grades too. Enrollment of children in schools is not an issue in Punjab and it will further improve because government has started pre-primary classes in government schools. The effect of pre-primary classes should reflect in next survey.”
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