DEBADURLLAV HARICHANDAN, OP
Bhubaneswar: The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2024 has exposed the lacunae in the state’s elementary and primary education. The report, published recently, has revealed that just 59.4 per cent fifth-grade students in state’s schools can read textbooks meant for second graders, while the same can be performed by only 40 per cent third-graders. While these figures bring to the fore the existing challenges, they also highlight a significant recovery from the pandemic period when the situation was even grimmer.
In 2022, only 29.8 per cent of third-graders and 52.5 per cent fifth-graders were able to handle second-grade textbooks. The ASER survey, released once in two years, by Pratham Foundation, highlights that only 32.6 per cent of fifth-grade students can perform a three-digit division, while the same can be done by just 48.4 per cent eighthgrade students. When it comes to two-digit subtractions, just 37.7 per cent of third-grade students can ace it. Of the 37.7 per cent pool, government school students comprise 34.6 per cent, while private school students fare better at 63 per cent.
Reportedly, this year, the ASER survey collected estimates from 600 districts across India, with a sample size of 600 households per district. Those households were chosen from districts after selecting 20 of those from 30 villages under it for the purpose of the study. A total of 6.5 lakh children in pre-primary group (3-5 years) and elementary (6-14) were taken into consideration from these households. Furthermore, the report states that only 30.2 per cent students between third-grade and fi fthgrade in districts such as Boudh, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, and Rayagada can manage to read second-grade textbooks. The situation looks better in districts such as Angul, Bolangir, tBargarh, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Subarnapur, and Sundargarh where 50.3 per cent students can perform the task.
In Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh, and Puri districts the figure stands at 66 per cent. Similarly, at 63.1 per cent, students in coastal Odisha top the chart among third and fifth-graders who can manage to do subtractions. This is followed by western Odisha at 46.9 per cent and southern Odisha at 30.3 per cent. When it comes to performing a simple division among sixth and eighth-grade students, coastal Odisha logs at 53.8 per cent, while western Odisha and southern Odisha registers 40.5 and 33.5, respectively.