Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022

Why in news?

• Recently, the 17th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022 was released by NGO Pratham, which highlights the impact of the pandemic on education.
• The report unveils high enrolment of children in schools which is a good performance indicator for government programmes like Nipun Bharat Mission.

About Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022:

• This is an annual survey that aims to provide reliable estimates of children’s enrolment and basic learning levels for each district and state in India.
• ASER has been conducted every year since 2005 in all rural districts of India.
• It is the largest citizen-led survey in India. It is also the only annual source of information on children’s learning outcomes available in India today.
• Unlike most other large-scale learning assessments, ASER is a household-based rather than school-based survey.
  • This design enables all children to be included – those who have never been to school or have dropped out, as well as those who are in government schools, private schools, religious schools or anywhere else.
• In each rural district, 30 villages are sampled. In each village, 20 randomly selected households are surveyed. This process generates a total of 600 households per district.

Who conducts the survey?

• ASER tools and procedures are designed by ASER Centre, the research and assessment arm of Pratham.
• Pratham is an NGO working towards the provision of quality education to the underprivileged children in India.

Key Findings of 2022 report:

• School enrolment touched a record high:
  • Despite the prolonged closure of schools, the overall enrollment in schools across the country has increased at all levels, with 98.4% in the age group of 6-14 years currently enrolled in schools. The figure stood at 97.2% in 2018.
• Increase in enrollment in government schools:
  • The percentage of children (aged 11 – 14) who are enrolled in government schools has risen from 65% in 2018 to 71.7% in 2022.
• The proportion of out of school girls reduced:
  • There is a decrease in the proportion of girls not enrolled in schools for the age group 11-14 from 4.1% in 2018 to 2% in 2022.
  • This indicates that efforts to promote gender equality in education have been effective.
• Basic Reading and Arithmetic Skills:
  • There has been a decline in the basic reading and arithmetic skills of young children in Class 3 and Class 5 in India.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)’:

1. It is conducted every year by National Statistical Office of India

2. It is a household-based rather than school-based survey

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer