Enrolment of students in private schools in Maharashtra is 7.8 per cent more than private schools in India
According to the 11th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) of Maharashtra released on Wednesday, by Pratham (NGO), the enrolment figure of children of age group between 6-14 years in Maharashtra schools since 2008 has been above 98.5 per cent, and in 2016 it was marked at 99.1 per cent. The report also states that the reading performance of children in Maharashtra is better than India as a collective, however, arithmetic levels are poorer than reading levels.
The survey was done in 33 rural districts, 973 villages and 19,430 households across Maharashtra. At a pan India level, the survey was conducted in 589 rural districts, 17,473 villages, 350,232 households and among 562,305 children.
In Maharashtra, 6.1 per cent girls in the group 15-16 years are currently out of school, whereas the national figure is 16.1 per cent, as per the report. From 2006-2016, 30.5 per cent children (age 6-14) were enrolled in private schools across India, whereas in Maharashtra, 38.3 per cent children were enrolled, which is a steady rise.
According to Nand Kumar, Principal secretary, School Education and Sports Department, "The reading levels have improved in primary schools in Maharashtra because of the Pragat Shaikshanik Maharashtra program. We are encouraging school teachers to visit Kumthe village in Satara, where teachers are using constructive methods of teaching. Even the National Curriculum Framework recommended the use of this method. Teachers are also using activity-based learning to increase and enhance reading."
The report also shows that the performance of government schools is better than private schools. In 2016, 41.2 per cent Class III government school children could read Class II level text, and 38.8 per cent Class III private school children were able to read Class II text. The reading level in higher grades have also increased from 53.5 per cent in 2014 to 62.5 per cent in 2016 for children in Class V who could read Class II level text.
Nationally, in 2014, 42.2 per cent Class V children in government schools could read Class II text. However, in 2016 the percentage of Class V children who could read Class II level text in government schools decreased by 0.6 per cent which is 41.6 per cent.
In 2011, 64.0 per cent Class III children could not solve simple two-digit subtraction problems of Class II textbooks, which increased to 81.3 per cent in 2014, and in 2016, it declined to 76.1 per cent. The number of Class V children enrolled in government schools in Maharashtra who could solve basic subtraction problems increased from 38.6 per cent in 2014 to 47.0 in 2016.
According to the ASER report, there has been no significant improvement in the reading and Arithmetic levels of children in upper primary schools. In Maharashtra, 24.2 per cent Class VIII students cannot read Class II level text.
Usha Rane, Director content and training, Pratham, while addressing media, said, "We have forwarded the report to Ministry of Human Resource Development and have requested them to have clear and achievable learning goals needed for different stages like end of Class II, end of Class V and end of Class VIII."
When asked about the poor Arithmetic level among children, Vinod Tawde, Maharashtra's Education Minister, said, "We are training our teachers to make Maths a student-friendly subject, by giving them different tools and creating Maths-based activities."
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