More enrolment in pvt schools of UP than govt ones: ASER

LUCKNOW: While the state government is spending crores in paying salaries to government school teachers, UP is witnessing an alarming trend – an increase in private school enrolment as compared to government ones.

While in 2006, only 30.3% UP kids, in age group 6-14 years, were studying in private schools, this percentage rose to 51.7% by 2014. In sharp contrast, the national average of children going to private schools is only 30.8%, says ASER findings for 2014.

The reading ability of students in UP government schools has also declined considerably. The report suggests that the reading ability of children in class 3, who can read at least a class 1 level textbook, deteriorated from 23.5% in 2006 to just 13.4% in 2014.

Another surprise is that the situation in the bordering state of Bihar is much better than that in UP – on several parameters.

The only positive as per the report is that the enrolment number of students in the state has increased from 2006 to 2014.

Rukmini Banerji, chief executive officer of Pratham said that for a decade now volunteers of the NGO have been visiting schools in rural UP.

They have found that students do not have the minimum level of reading and learning abilities of the classes in which they study. “But this problem can easily be addressed with special remedial tools prepared by team Pratham,” she said.

Banerji added that the situation in UP was particularly concerning.

“However, solutions are available and have been tried out. Children’s reading and arithmetic solving ability in primary schools can be improved significantly with substantial reworking of teaching and learning methods,” she added.

Banerji further said, “You have to begin from the place where these students are. Teaching children rather than teaching the curriculum has to be the priority. With just 100 hours session, marked improvement can be brought about in their understanding process.”

ASER 2016 will kick off on August 30 with a preparatory national-level workshop in Lucknow. The 100-day exercise will culminate with the national release of ASER report in mid-January 2017.