25% in 14-18 yrs can’t read Class 2 text fluently
The report also said that more than 32 per cent of those aged 18 or above are not enrolled in educational institutions, while more than half of Class 11 and 12 students opt for humanities stream.
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NEW DELHI: More than 86.8 per cent youngsters in the age group of 14-18 years are enrolled in educational institutions but one-fourth of them cannot read a Class-2 level text fluently in their regional languages, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) released on Wednesday.
The report also said that more than 32 per cent of those aged 18 or above are not enrolled in educational institutions, while more than half of Class 11 and 12 students opt for humanities stream.
The report also asserted that the fear that several older students dropped out of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a loss of livelihood was unfounded.
The ASER 2023 ‘Beyond Basics’ report that puts the spotlight on youths aged 14 to 18 years in rural India noted small gender gaps in enrolment but flagged notable differences between age groups.
“There are small gender gaps in enrollment, but notable differences are visible by age. Older youth are more likely to be not enrolled. The percentage of youth not enrolled is 3.9 pc for 14-year-old youth and is 32.6 pc for 18-year-olds,” it said.
“Overall, 86.8 per cent of 14-18-year-olds are enrolled in an educational institution,” the 2023 report said. It, however, underlined that 25 per cent of them cannot read a Class-2 level text fluently in their regional languages.
It also pointed out that females are less likely to be enrolled in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) streams than males.
“Most of the young people in this age group were enrolled in the arts and humanities stream. In class 11 or higher, more than half are enrolled in the Arts and Humanities stream (55.7 pc) Females are less likely to be enrolled in the STEM stream (28.1 pc) than males (36.3 pc),” it added.
Last year’s report showed that the enrolment levels of children in the age bracket of six to 14 years had gone up marginally from 96.6 per cent in 2010 to 96.7 per cent in 2014 and from 97.2 per cent in 2018 to 98.4 per cent in 2022.
In Tamil Nadu, 51% can’t do division
As many as 51 per cent of teenagers between 14 to 18 years in Perambalur could not do division, while 14.8 per cent could not read a Class 2 level text, revealed ASER study.
In the same age group surveyed in the district, 17.4 per cent could not read sentences in English. Also, 41.9 per cent of students struggled to calculate time, and 43.3 per cent of teenage students could not measure added weights.
The report pointed out that 9.9 per cent could not measure length in easy category, 53.2 per cent could not measure length in hard category and 43.7 per cent of students struggled to apply unitary methods.
As many as 14.3 per cent could not read instructions and answer 3 out of 4 questions. Further, 21.6 per cent could not manage a budget under financial calculations and 61.6 per cent and 89.5 per cent could not apply a discount and calculate repayment, respectively.
