Less than 2 out of 5 students can do basic maths in Satara and Ahmednagar districts of Maharashtra: ASER report

A good number of children in the age group of 14-18 go to school in Ahmednagar and Satara districts of Maharshtra but less than half of them can do basic mathematics, according to a new report on the status of education in the state. They are, however, are able to do daily task of counting money and managing budget, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) by NGO Pratham has concluded. 

In Ahmednagar district, the literacy rate is 79.1%, while it is 82.9% in Satara, according to the report. The literacy rate in Maharashtra is 82.3%, shows the ASER report.

A sample of 1,196 youth in 954 households in 60 villages was taken in Satara for the survey while in Ahmednagar, it was conducted with 1,133 youth in 946 households in 60 villages. 

The survey was conducted on activity and awareness among youth between the age group of 14-18 in these two districts.

In Ahmednagar, 90.7% youth (male and female) in the age group of 14 to 18 years are enrolled in standard XII or below. According to the survey, 96.3% children between 14 and 16 years and 80.6% between age 17-18 were enrolled in standard XII or below. Also, only 12.7% youth (age 17-18) are enrolled for under graduation or other courses. 

Whereas in Satara district, 87.6% youth in the age group of 14 to 18, 97.1% between age 14 and 16, and 71.8% between age 17-18 were enrolled in standard XII or below. Only 15.5% teens in the age group of 17-18 are enrolled for under graduation or other in Satara.

In Ahmednagar, 75.7% youth were able to do daily task like counting money and 69.3% were able to manage a budget. In Satara, 80.8% of them were able to count money and 66.1% were able to manage budget. But at arithmetic in academics levels, only 34.0% of them were able to do division, 26.6% youth were able to do subtraction, and only 39.5% were able to recognize the numbers (10-99) or below in Ahmednagar. 

In Satara, only 39.1% students knew division, 25.1% knew subtraction and 35.9% could recognize the number (10-99).

The children are also falling behind in the field of digital knowledge. In the age group of 14-18 in Ahmednagar, 14.2% of them never used mobile, 46.3% never used internet and 31.4% never used computer. 

In Satara, 9.2% youth never used mobile, 40.9% never used internet and 20.5% never used computer.

In Ahmednagar district, 46.1% of respondents (male and female) were able to identify their state on the map. In Satara district, only 55.3% of them were able to identify their state on the map. 

The financial participation report shows that only 54.4% youth (age 14-18) have their own bank account and only 18.2% of them have used ATM in Ahmednagar. Whereas the Satara figure shows that 70.7% have their own bank account but only 18.9% of them have used ATM.

In the basic knowledge of arithmetic and English, ASER report of Satara youth between age 14-18 shows that 87.6% of them were able to read standard II level text, 7.4% youth were able to read standard I level text and only 4.9% were able to read words level below that. Similarly in Ahmednagar, 86.0% youth were able to read standard II level text, 8.1% were able to read standard I level text and 5.9% were able to read anything below that.

In reading levels in ASER English, Ahmednagar's 67.1% youth were able to read sentence, 17.0% word and 16.0% small letter or below. Satara's 73.4% youth were able to read sentence, 13.8% youth were able to read word and 12.8% could read small letter or below.

Expert quote:

Farida Lambay, Co-Founder, Pratham NGO, said, “This time our survey was different and we chose age group of 14-18 who are adolescents just to find out where are these children after standard VIIIas we hear about drop outs in Right to Education. And the good news is that majority of them from Maharashtra were found in school which is seen in the survey report. In Ahmednagar and Satara it was found that these children can do functional maths that is calculation in day to day life easily, but when given a theory or academic maths their performance was low, not that good and this points out how is a teaching method in schools.”