By Anwarulhaq Baig
NEW DELHI— The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023, recently released by Pratham, one of India’s largest NGOs, paints a disturbing picture of the state of education and skills among rural youth aged 14-18 across India.
The ASER survey sheds light on schooling and learning through community-driven household surveys conducted every two years. The 2023 survey assessed over 34,000 rural youth across 26 states and 28 districts, revealing alarming gaps in basic learning skills, especially among girls in areas like financial literacy and digital tasks.
Alarmed by the findings of the survey report, education experts, activists, and community leaders have proposed diverse solutions, from bolstering teacher training to broadening vocational pathways.
Commenting on the ASER survey report, JIH Markazi Taleemi Board director Syed Tanveer Ahmed criticized the tendency of teachers to prioritize completing the syllabus and preparing students for exams, neglecting deeper understanding and critical thinking skills.
He said, “Our education system targets completing the syllabus by teachers and preparing students for examinations. Our teachers are instructional rather than intentional. Therefore, it is the duty of the education ministry to evaluate the report and take the remedial measures required in government as well as private schools.”
Highlighting the stark disparity in access to digital resources between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds, Mr. Tanveer said, “Our education system replicates our society, which has a huge gap between various strata. Those at higher income levels enjoy all the digital facilities, whereas poor students lack the basic requirements for digital learning. One of the key 21st-century skills is digital literacy, and a large part of our population is deprived of this skill.”
Expressing concern about how India can aspire to become a “world leader” with such prevalent weaknesses in our education system, Mr. Tanveer said, “The NEP aspires for India to become a Vishwa Guru, but with so many weaknesses and gaps, how can we become one? To become a world leader, we need to overhaul the education system.”
Mr. Tanveer raised a disturbing point about the education system potentially fueling communal tensions instead of fostering collaborative learning. He advocated for teaching crucial 21st-century skills like collaboration and working together for national progress.
Expressing concern about the increasing dropout rate and the trend of students choosing arts over science and commerce streams, JIH Delhi state president Salimullah Khan urged the government to implement corrective measures to address these issues. He commended the rise in digital learning initiatives but noted the need for NGOs to effectively reach rural students and leverage this opportunity to improve their learning outcomes.
Discussing remedial measures, Dr. Kazim Malik, a prominent educationist and career counsellor from Mumbai, argued that the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) must ensure proper training for all teachers, emphasizing that this is crucial to equip them with the necessary skills for effectively educating students. He cited unqualified teachers as a major factor behind the lack of learning abilities among students.
Before embracing digitalization in education, Dr. Malik suggested the government reclaim control of primary education and halt its privatization. He advocated for making primary education free and compulsory, as stipulated in the Right to Education Act, which recommends free and compulsory education from kindergarten to grade 10. Dr. Malik emphasized the importance of mother tongue instruction in primary education, aligning with the National Education Policy. He argued that neglecting mother tongue instruction contributed to increased dropout rates.
Addressing the alarming dropout rate among young people, Dr. Malik identified the lack of availability of primary education in the mother tongue as a key problem. He highlighted that while English medium schools are often readily available, they are frequently riddled with substandard quality and hefty expenses. As a solution, Dr. Malik proposed that government-run primary education schools should meet the highest quality standards, aiming to ultimately eliminate the need for private schools altogether.
Commenting on the alarmingly low 5.6% vocational training rate among Indian youth revealed in the survey report, Dr. Malik highlighted the stark contrast with developed countries like Japan, Finland, and China, which prioritize high-quality vocational training. To show the gap, he presented the astonishing fact that China has over 6,000 vocational training universities, compared to India’s meager figure of less than 100. To bridge this gap, he advocated for establishing a wider network of accessible vocational and skill-learning universities after primary education to equip Indian youth with valuable career skills.
To encourage young talent, Dr. Malik urged the government to bring back primary-level scholarships and restore funding for research scholarships.
A critical analysis of the ASER 2023 main findings revealed some surprising results. This comprehensive survey, which explores youth activities, daily skill application, digital access, and future aspirations, paints a detailed picture of the diverse realities faced by young people in rural India.
Learning Deficits Remain Alarming
The foundational learning statistics as revealed by the ASER 2023 report for rural youth are abysmal.
Shockingly, 25% of 14-18-year-olds struggle to read even a simple Class II-level text in their regional language, highlighting the profound failure of the education system to equip them with basic literacy skills during their crucial primary years.
Similarly, barely half (43.3%) can perform a basic 3-digit by 1-digit division problem, expected of students two grades younger. Even reading simple English sentences remains a hurdle for many, with only 57.3% demonstrating this ability, though comprehension amongst them fares slightly better at 73.5%.
These dismal figures become even more concerning when dissected through the lens of gender. While girls fare marginally better in regional language reading, they lag behind boys in both arithmetic (37.8% vs. 50%) and English reading (54% vs. 61.9%). This persistent gender disparity underscores the need for targeted interventions despite seemingly improved enrollment rates.
Lack of Practical Applications of Knowledge and Skills in Daily Life
The deep gap between knowledge and its practical application exposes glaring holes in the curriculum.
ASER 2023 tested youth on vital everyday skills like applying discounts, calculating loan repayments, and interpreting medicine labels. The results are alarming: barely 37% of math-proficient youth can navigate simple financial calculations, and a mere 10% grasp loan repayments.
This disconnect extends to numeracy as well, with only 39% capable of basic measurements even when the scale doesn’t start at zero. It’s evident that schooling fails to equip students with essential functional numeracy.
While 69.2% of male youth who can read basic text understand simple O.R.S. instructions, only 61.7% of females achieve the same feat. This discrepancy underlines the urgency of addressing not only foundational learning deficits but also ensuring equitable access to practical skills, especially crucial health information, for all young people.
Low Awareness of Online Safety
ASER 2023’s first assessment of rural youth’s digital world reveals alarming gaps in digital awareness and safety.
While smartphones have reached 89% of households and social media use is sky-high at 90.5% among youth, a shockingly low around 50% of social media users are even aware of basic privacy controls and online safety measures like two-factor authentication.
This exposes young people, especially girls who lag behind, to significant vulnerability in the digital landscape. Urgent implementation of digital literacy programs covering online ethics, privacy, fact-checking, cyber-bullying, and more is crucial to equip them with the tools to explore the online world safely and responsibly.
Additionally, the near-absence of computers (only 9% of households) underscores the need for broader digital access initiatives.
Youth Use Smartphones Mainly for Entertainment:
The 2023 survey reveals that rural youth aged 14-18 years use smartphones primarily for entertainment, not productivity. While 89% youth have smartphone access, only 26% have utilized online services like digital payments (37.6% boys versus 19% girls). This showcases the massive untapped potential for empowering service delivery. However, nearly 80% youth admit to entertainment activities like watching movies or listening to music. With data plans getting cheaper, smartphones serve more as recreation devices. The disproportionate use for entertainment rather than education, livelihoods, or health services points to gaps in awareness of productive internet utility.
Enrollment Gaps and Educational Stream Disparities:
The ASER 2023 report indicates that 86.8% of 14-18-year-olds are enrolled in an educational institution, but significant disparities exist. Older youth, particularly 18-year-olds, show a dropout rate as high as 32.6%. Gender gaps in enrollment are noticeable, with 3.9% of 14-year-old females not enrolled compared to 32.6% of 18-year-old females.
Arts/Humanities emerge as the predominant stream for this age group, with 55.7% enrolled, followed by STEM (31.7%) and Commerce (9.4%). Notably, gender disparities persist, with fewer females (28.1%) enrolled in STEM compared to males (36.3%).
Boys Outperform Girls across All Abilities:
ASER 2023 makes abundantly clear that female youth lag behind their male counterparts across nearly all skills assessed. From financial calculations (males 34%, females 23%) to everyday measurements (males 59%, females 42%) to digital fluency (males 80%, females 66%), deficits for young rural women persist.
Cultural discriminations were also visible, with only 19.8% of girls owning mobile phones compared to 43.7% of boys in smartphone households.
Aspirations and Vocational Training:
Taken together, these findings suggest that rural youth, while clear about their educational aspirations, lack crucial information and support for exploring future career paths. They often have limited knowledge about vocational training options, and schools or communities rarely encourage them to explore non-traditional careers beyond those immediately available. This is reflected in the higher percentage of males (40.3%) compared to females (28%) who engage in non-household work, mostly on family farms.
A mere 5.6% of surveyed youth report undertaking vocational training or related courses, mostly in short durations. This highlights the need for interventions that bridge the information gap and equip young people with the tools and guidance to pursue diverse career aspirations beyond their immediate surroundings.
Challenges in the Post-Pandemic Period and NEP 2020:
The report contextualizes findings within the post-pandemic world, emphasizing the impact of prolonged school closures and the increased reliance on remote and online learning. While the National Education Policy emphasizes holistic development and digital literacy, the report highlights the urgent need for effective implementation.
While the ASER 2023 report covers positive developments like improved enrollment and rising digital penetration, it presents worrying red flags for India’s rural education system and the youth population at large. Rural youth struggle to translate basic knowledge into daily life skills, stumbling through crucial tasks like financial calculations, measurements, and navigating healthcare information. This disconnect between schooling and survival needs paints a concerning picture of irrelevance, jeopardizing the future of a generation.
Furthermore, gender disparities across learning, skills, and digital access expose the compounding disadvantages faced by young rural women, the nation’s most vulnerable demographic. Altogether, the report raises serious questions about India’s preparedness to harness its projected demographic dividend.
Experts have given significant course corrections to secure the futures of rural youth. These include revamping early-years pedagogy, overhauling the secondary curriculum, ensuring equitable digital access, and prioritizing comprehensive skills training. The findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to address these disparities in education, foundational skills, and digital access. A concerted effort from government bodies, NGOs, and communities is crucial to bridge these gaps and build a more equitable and inclusive educational landscape for the youth of rural India.
The ASER survey, launched in 2005 by Pratham (co-founded in 1995 by Madhav Chavan and Farida Lambay in Mumbai), is dedicated to providing quality education to underprivileged children.
