GIRLS SHINE IN ACADEMICS, BOYS IN MATHS: ASER REPORT

NEW DELHI: While girls outperform boys in academics, when it comes to basic arithmetic boys seem to hold a substantial advantage over girls, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2018, published by Pratham Education Foundation, a non-governmental organisation.

The report said 50% of all boys in the age group 14 to 16 can correctly solve a division problem as compared to 44% of all girls.

The ASER covered 596 districts, 3,54,944 households and 5,46,527 children in the 3-16 age group. The survey took into account three major aspects, including school enrolment and attendance, basic reading and math abilities, and school facilities with sports infrastructure.

According to the report, girls outperformed boys in academics but when it came to basic arithmetic, boys seem to hold a substantial advantage over girls.

For the first time in 2018, the number of children in the 6 to 14 age group, who are not enrolled in school, fell below 3% and stood at 2.8%. In 2006, the all-india proportion of girls in the age group 11 to 14, who were out of school, stood at 10.3%. In that year, nine major states had out of school figures for girls (age 11-14) above 10%, the report stated.

“In 2018, the overall proportion of girls in the 11 to 14 age group out of school has fallen to 4.1%. This figure is more than 5% in only four states. “Further, in 2008, nationally, more than 20% of girls in the 15 to 16 age group were not enrolled in school. In 2018, this figure has decreased to 13.5%,” stated the report.

According to the report, reading abilities of children have also shown gradual improvement. “The percentage of Class 3 children who can read Class 2 level text increased from 21.6% in 2013 to 27.2% in 2018. However, the percentage of children being able to solve arithmetic problems remained nearly stagnant.