Annual Status of Education Report 2022

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Introduction
• ASER is a ‘floor test’ focusing on basic reading and arithmetic, rather than grade-level
competencies to understand whether children in rural India are enrolled in school and
whether they are learning.
• Launch Year: First ASER was conducted in 2005 and repeated annually for ten years. In
2016, ASER shifted to alternate year cycle. However, COVID 19 interrupted this alternate
year trajectory.
• ASER 2022 is the first field-based 'basic' nationwide ASER after a gap of 4 years
• Conducted by: Pratham NGO.
▪ Pratham is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in the country created to
improve the quality of education in India.
▪ ASER tools and procedures are designed by Pratham’s ASER Centre.
• Methodology: It is a household-based survey rather than school-based survey.
▪ Household-based survey: It allows it to include out of school children and children
attending different types of schools.
▪ Target Age Group: It collects information on schooling status for all children in the age
group 3-16 living in sampled households.
• Coverage: It was a nationwide citizen-led rural household survey.
▪ Urban areas are not covered in it

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ASER 2022 National Findings

Enrolment and Attendance

• Overall Enrolment (age group 6-14): It has been above 95% for the past 15 years.
▪ It increased from 97.2% in 2018 to 98.4% in 2022, despite school closures during the
pandemic.

• Government school enrolment: It increased sharply from 65.6% in 2018 to 72.9% in

2022.
▪ 2006 to 2014 period had seen decrease in enrolment in government school.
▪ In 2014, it was 64.9% and did not change much over the following four years.

• Proportion of girls who are not currently enrolled

▪ 11-14 Age Group: It was 2% (all India figure) in 2022
➢ It has continued to drop from 10.3% in 2010 and 4.1% in 2018.
➢ This figure is around 4% only in Uttar Pradesh and is lower in all other states

▪ 15-16 Age Group: It was 7.9% in 2022.

➢ It has seen sharper decrease in this age group from more than 20% in 2010 to 13.5%
in 2018.
➢ Only 3 states have more than 10% of girls in this age group out of school:
Madhya Pradesh (17%), Uttar Pradesh (15%), and Chhattisgarh (11.2%).

• Enrolment in the pre-primary age group:

▪ Proportion of 3-year-olds enrolled in some form of early childhood education: It
was 78.3% in 2022, an increase of 7.1 percentage points over 2018 levels.
▪ Aanganwadi Enrollements:
➢ Among 3-year-olds, it stood at 66.8% (2022).
➢ Among 4-year-olds, it stood at 61.2% (2022).

• Paid private tuition classes:

▪ Proportion of children in Std I-VIII taking paid private tuition classes: It has
increased from 26.4% (2018) to 30.5% (2022).
➢ This proportion has further increased amongst both government and private schools
students.
➢ It has increased by 8 percentage points or more over 2018 levels in Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, and Jharkhand.

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Learning Levels: Foundational Skills in Reading, Arithmetic and English

Reading

• Nationally, children’s basic reading ability has dropped to pre-2012 levels.

• This has reversed slow improvement achieved in the intervening years.
• Drops are in both government and private schools in most states, and also for both boys
and girls.
▪ Standard III: The percentage of children in Std III who can read at Std II level has
dropped from 27.3% in 2018 to 20.5% in 2022.

▪ Standard IV: The proportion of children enrolled in Std V in government or private

schools who can at least read Std II level text fell to 42.8% in 2022 from 50.5% in 2018.
➢ States that showed steady or improved marginally: Bihar, Odisha, Manipur, and
Jharkhand.
▪ Standard VIII: 69.6% of children enrolled in Std VIII in government or private schools
can read at least basic text in 2022, falling from 73% in 2018.
❖ The drop in basic reading ability is visible among Std VIII students as well, but it is
smaller as compared to observed trends in Std III and Std V.
Arithmetic

• Nationally: Children’s basic arithmetic levels have declined over 2018 levels for most
grades. But the declines are less steep and is more varied than in the case of basic
reading.
▪ Standard III: All India figure for children in Std III who are able to at least do subtraction
dropped from 28.2% in 2018 to 25.9% in 2022.

▪ Standard V: Proportion of children in Std V across India who can do division has also
fallen slightly, from 27.9% in 2018 to 25.6% in 2022.

▪ Standard VIII: Nationally, the proportion of children who can do division increased
slightly, from 44.1% in 2018 to 44.7% in 2022.
❖ This increase is driven by improved outcomes among girls as well as among
children enrolled in government schools.
❖ Boys and children enrolled in private schools show a decline over 2018 levels.
➢ States that performed better in 2022 than in 2018: Uttar Pradesh (from 32% to
41.8%) and Chhattisgarh (from 28% to 38.6%),
➢ Worst Performance: It was seen in Punjab (from 58.4% to 44.5%).
English

• Standard III: Students who can read words but not sentences, in 2022 is about half who
could tell the meaning of the words they had read (it was 55.3% in 2016).
• Standard V: It has stayed more or less at the 2016 levels from 24.7% in 2016 to 24.5% in
2022.
• Standard VIII: It has slightly improved from 45.3% in 2016 to 46.7% in 2022.

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School Observations

• In 2022: ASER surveyors had visited 17,002 government schools with

primary sections.
▪ Of these, 9,577 were primary schools and 7,425 were upper primary
schools.

Small Schools and Multigrade Classrooms

▪Proportion of government schools with less than 60 students enrolled: It has

increased every year over the last decade.
▪ Nationally: It was 17.3% in 2010, 24% in 2014, 29.4% in 2018, and stands at 29.9% in
2022.
▪ States with the highest proportion of small schools in 2022: Himachal Pradesh
(81.4%) and Uttarakhand (74%).
• Teacher and Student Attendance
▪ All-India level: There is no major change is seen in students’ and teachers’ attendance.
▪ Average teacher attendance: It has increased slightly, from 85.4% in 2018 to 87.1% in
2022.
▪ Average student attendance: It continues to be around 72% for the past several years.
School Facilities

• Nationally: There are small improvements visible in all Right to Education-related

indicators over 2018 levels.
▪ Schools with useable girls’ toilets: It increased from 66.4% in 2018 to 68.4% in 2022.
▪ Schools with drinking water: It increased from 74.8% to 76%.
▪ Schools with books other than textbooks: It increased from 36.9% in 2018 to 44% in
2022.
▪ Sports-related indicators: They remain close to the levels observed in 2018.
➢ In 2022, 68.9% schools have a playground, up slightly from 66.5% in 2018.
Other School Indicators

• Textbooks: They have been distributed to all grades and most children had received their
textbooks for the current academic year.
▪ Primary schools: 90.1% students received textbooks.
▪ Upper primary schools: 84.4% students received textbooks.
• Directive to implement Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) activities with
their students: About 80% of all primary schools had received it.

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ASER in Short

Parameters 2018 2022 Trend

Overall Enrolment (Age Group 6-14) 97.2% 98.4% Positive

Enrolled in Government School (Age Group 6-14) 65.6% 72.9% Positive

Girls not Enrolled in School (Age Group 11-14) 4.1% 2% Positive

Children in Std I-VIII Taking Paid Private Tuition

26.4% 30.5% Positive
Classes

Children in Std III (Government or Private

27.3% 20.5% Negative
Schools) Able to read at Std II level

Children in Std III who are able to at least do

28.2% 25.9% Negative
subtraction

Children in Std V across India who can do

27.9% 25.6% Negative
division

Government Schools with Less than 60 Students

29.4% 29.9% Negative
Enrolled

Average Teacher Attendance 85.4% 87.1% Positive

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Fraction of Schools with Useable Girls’ Toilets 66.4% 68.4% Positive

Schools with Drinking Water Availability 74.8% 76% Positive

Households having Smart Phones 36% 74.8% Positive

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