46% of Std V students can’t solve simple calculations: NGO Pratham

NEW DELHI: The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2012) by NGO Pratham shows that the number of Class V students who could not read a Class II level text or solve a simple arithmetic problem has increased. In 2010, 46.3% of kids in this category failed to make the cut and this shot up to 51.8% in 2011 and 53.2% in 2012.

US President Barack Obama had warned that America’s dipping proficiency in mathematics was putting it at a disadvantage with India and China, but Indian policy planners need to worry too. In 2010, 29.1% children in Class V could not solve a two-digit subtraction problem without seeking help. This proportion increased to 39% in 2011 and 46.5% in 2012.

Barring Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, nearly every state showed a decline in math learning while reading levels went down in Haryana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh , Maharashtra and Kerala . Ironically, 2012 was the ‘year of mathematics’.

Commenting on the low learning levels, Pratham’s Madhav Chavan said, “Measures the government is taking are not working and since 2012, things are moving in the opposite direction.”

While there was little difference in learning level outcomes between students studying in government schools with regard to private schools, children who received private tutoring did better. Discontented with government provided education , parents are turning towards private schooling with a vengeance.

The number of 6-14 yearolds enrolled in private schools has jumped from 18.7% in 2006 to 28.3% in 2012 and is estimated to reach 50% in the next 10 years. Incidentally , this comes at a time when there are barely two months left for the country to implement the Right To Education (RTE) law in its entirety , with the law providing for enrollment of economically disadvantaged kids in privately-run schools.

Accepting that private schooling was making inroads , human resource development minister M M Pallam Raju said, “I will not grudge this trend. It is important that our kids get educated. If it is in private schools, so be it. We will try and match up to those conditions.’’

He added that the focus of the 12th plan was on raising standards of quality in teaching and faculty. In 2012, more than 40% of children (age 6-14 years) in J&K, Punjab, Haryana , Rajasthan, UP and Meghalaya were enrolled in private schools. This percentage was 60% in states like Kerala and Manipur. The survey was conducted in 567 districts, over 16,000 villages with nearly 3.3 lakh households covering 6 lakh children in the age group of 3-16 years.