Summary
The percentage of children unable to recognise the letters of Hindi and English alphabets in classes II, III and VI has increased significantly in the state, highlights the Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) 2021
As per the report, sharp drops were visible in children's basic reading ability in all grades in 2021 as compared to levels in the period before the COVID-19 outbreak
The percentage of students unable to even recognise letters of the English Alphabet in beginner-level classes has doubled in Chhattisgarh in 2021 as compared to 2018, indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic and the curbs enforced to check the transmission of the virus have had a detrimental effect on school education in the state.
According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2021 for Chhattisgarh, in the pre-COVID-19 period (2014-2018), basic learning outcomes in the state had been improving, but the pandemic, which hit India in March 2020 and led to school closures, has caused a very serious learning loss.
The percentage of children unable to recognise the letters of Hindi and English alphabets in classes II, III and VI has increased significantly. It rose from 19.5% in 2018 to 37.6% in 2021 for students in class II. It jumped from 10.4% in 2018 to 22.5% in 2021 for students of class III, and from 2.5% in 2018 to 4.8% in 2021 for students of class VI, findings of ASER have revealed.
Current foundational reading level in classes I to VII is the lowest in the past decade. The largest drops are visible in the lowest grades, especially among children in government schools, the report said.
The report is based on a survey of 45,992 children in the age bracket of three years to 16 years in 33,432 households across 28 districts of Chhattisgarh.
The survey, which covered 1,647 schools, was conducted in the pandemic-hit year on special request of the state government, a senior official said.
As per the report, sharp drops were visible in children's basic reading ability in all grades in 2021 as compared to levels in the period before the COVID-19 outbreak.
“The survey provided us district-wise data which revealed the loss in learning ability. It was not something which was unexpected. There will be learning loss when schools are closed. It has not happened just in Chhattisgarh,” said principal secretary, education, Alok Shukla.
Speaking about the future course of action, Shukla said that the Chhattisgarh government has prepared a remedial programme jointly with the ASER centre for students.
“But at present, we have to introduce it online. We hope sooner or later the pandemic will end and schools will resume offline classes, and we will bring students to the desired levels of learning," he added.
Meanwhile, state president of the Private School Association in Chhattisgarh, Rajiv Gupta, blamed a lack of resources to attend online classes and negligence on part of the government for the learning loss among children during the pandemic.
According to ASER, the proportion of children who cannot even identify letters is high in Maoist-hit and tribal-dominated Bastar, Bijapur and Dantewada districts of the state.
The proportion of children in classes I and II in government schools who cannot recognise even single digit numbers is above 60% in Dantewada, Surajpur and Bijapur districts. In Bilaspur, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Mungeli, only about 10% government school students in classes III to V could solve a subtraction problem, the report said.
Last updated on 27 Jan 2022
