The NGO Pratham has recently published the Annual Status of Education Report (Rural), which assesses fundamental reading and arithmetic skills among school children, school attendance, and other key indicators.
It is a nationwide citizen-led household survey that provides a snapshot of children’s schooling and learning in rural India.
The 2024 survey reached 6,49,491 children in 17,997 villages across 605 rural districts.
This was also the first full-length ASER survey to record digital literacy among older children (15 and 16 years).
Key findings
Key findings of the ASER 2024 survey are presented separately below for three groups of children: Pre-primary (age group 3-5), elementary (age group 6-14), and older children (age group 15-16).
Pre-primary (age group 3-5 years):
Enrollment of children aged 3-5 in pre-primary institutions has steadily increased from 2018 to 2024.
Among 3-year-olds, enrollment in pre-primary institutions increased from 68.1% in 2018 to 75.8% in 2022 to 77.4% in 2024.
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana have achieved near-universal enrollment for this age group. On the other hand, Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh have the highest proportion of 3-year-olds not enrolled anywhere (over 50%).
Among 4-year-olds, the All-India figure for enrollment in pre-primary institutions increased from 76% in 2018 to 82% in 2022 to 83.3% in 2024.
Among 5-year-olds, this figure also showed big increases, rising from 58.5% in 2018 to 62.2% in 2022 to 71.4% in 2024.
Anganwadi centres continue to be the biggest provider of services in pre-primary age group in India.
The proportion of children who are “underage” (age 5 or below) is decreasing over time. In 2018, this figure was 25.6%, in 2022 it stood at 22.7%, and in 2024.
Elementary (age group 6-14 years)
Overall school enrollment rates among the 6-14 age group decreased slightly from 98.4% in 2022 to 98.1% in 2024.
Government school enrollment declining from 72.9% in 2022 to 66.8% in 2024
All-India figures indicate that reading levels have improved for children in government schools in all elementary grades (Std I-VIII) since 2022.
Nationally, children’s basic arithmetic levels also show substantial improvement in both government and private schools, reaching the highest level in over a decade.
Older children (age group 15-16 years)
The dropout rate for 15-16-year-olds reduced from 13.1% in 2018 to 7.9% in 2024.
The proportion of girls not enrolled has increased slightly from 7.9% in 2022 to 8.1% in 2024.
Although many states have seen a decline in the proportion of girls not enrolled, it remains above 10% in Madhya Pradesh (16.1%), Uttar Pradesh (15%), and Rajasthan (12.7%).
Digital literacy: For the first time in the nationwide household survey, ASER included a section on digital literacy which was administered to older children in the 14-16 age group.
Access: Almost 90% of both girls and boys report having a smartphone at home.
Ownership: The fraction of 14-16-year-olds who own smartphones is low, but increases with age.
Digital safety: Among children who used social media, knowledge of basic ways to protect themselves online was relatively high.
School Observations
Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN): Over 80% of schools received a government directive to implement FLN activities for Std I-II/III in both the previous and current academic years, with a similar proportion having at least one teacher trained in-person on FLN.
Student and teacher attendance: In government primary schools has steadily improved since 2018, with average student attendance rising from 72.4% in 2018 to 75.9% in 2024.
School facilities:
The fraction of schools with useable girls’ toilets increased from 66.4% in 2018 to 72% in 2024.
The proportion of schools with drinking water available increased from 74.8% to 77.7%.
Sports-related indicators remain at close to the levels observed in 2018. For example, in 2024, 66.2% schools have a playground, similar to 66.5% in 2018.
