25% in 14-18 yrs can't read Std 2 text: Survey

January 17, 2024 16:59

More than 86.8 per cent youngsters in the age group of 14-18 years are enrolled in educational institutions but 25 per cent 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.

While the report noted small gender gaps in enrolment, it flagged notable differences between age groups. The ASER 2023 'Beyond Basics' report puts the spotlight on youths aged 14 to 18 years in rural India, an age group that was also the focus of ASER 2017.

"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," the report 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. The report said more than 55 per cent students of Classes 11-12 opt for humanities, followed by science and commerce. 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. According to the report, only 5.6 per cent youngsters in the country are currently undergoing vocational training or have been enrolled in other related courses.

"Only 5.6 pc of surveyed youth report taking vocational training or other related courses currently. Youth at the college level are the most likely to be taking vocational training (16.2 pc). "Most youth are taking short duration courses (of 6 months or less). A higher percentage of males (40.3 per cent) than females (28 per cent) report doing work other than household work for at least 15 days during the preceding month," it added.

The report pointed out that among both males and females, most youth who are working in activities other than household work tend to be working on family farms. ASER is a nationwide citizen-led household survey that provides a snapshot of the status of children's schooling and learning in rural India. -- PTI

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