Covid-19 an educational hurdle in Chhattisgarh, one of India's most backward districts: Report

According to the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), which captures Covid-related learning losses in one of the country's most backward states, the proportion of students in classes II, III and VI who are unable to recognise letters has doubled since 2018, along with a sharp drop in their basic mathematical skills.

The present fundamental reading level among students in grades I-VII is "lower than at any time in the recent decade," according to the ASER study, which covered 46,021 children aged 3-16 years across 33,432 families in 28 districts of Chhattisgarh in October-November 2021.

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According to the research, the number of children in class III who can read standard II-level material fluently has decreased from 29.8 per cent in 2018 to 12.3 per cent in 2021, showing that learning outcomes for younger children, particularly those in government schools, have been significantly harmed.

According to statistics, until 2018, learning capacities among children of all ages were improving. For example, in 2014, 70.7 per cent of children in government class II could read letters; in 2016, it grew to 77.1 per cent; in 2018, it declined slightly to 76.3 per cent; and in 2021, it fell to 57 per cent.

In the case of mathematics, 14.2 per cent of children in class III (public and private schools combined) were able to subtract in 2014; the ratio grew to 20 per cent in 2016, dropped slightly to 19.3 per cent in 2016, and remained at 9 per cent in 2021. In 2018, 18 per cent of class V students could do division; this grew to 23.1 per cent in 2016, 26.9 per cent in 2018, and then dropped to 13 per cent in 2021.

According to the survey, the proportion of children who are unable to recognise even single-digit numerals has climbed across grades, with the proportion of students in classes I-V being the highest. According to the research, the percentage of children in this category climbed from 11.4 per cent to 24.3 per cent in class II and from 1.7 per cent to 4.5 per cent in class V.

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In a report released in September 2021, ASER captured the state of learning outcomes in Karnataka, just as it had done in Chhattisgarh. This analysis indicated "steep declines" in core skills, notably in lower primary grades, based on a sample examination of 20,000 students aged 5 to 15.

The poll discovered that private school students have more access to resources such as smartphones and television than their government school counterparts.

In a poll, 88.5 per cent of private school kids had cellphones at home, compared to 79.1 per cent of government school students. Furthermore, children in private schools are considerably more likely (8.1 per cent) than those in government schools (3.2 per cent) to take paid private tuition classes, according to the report.

The National Achievement Survey (NAS), which was conducted by the federal government in November of last year to examine children's learning achievements across the country, is slated to be revealed in March 2022.

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