Innovative programmes to increase the enrollment rate across different districts of Jharkhand, stringent plan of action to curb the dropout rates and pioneering methodologies to improve the quality of education that are adopted at present to make deprived kids well versed with the academics may appear feeble in Jharkhand as a comparative study report (2006-2014) issued as ASER Trends over Time report by NGO, ASER revealed that the number of Std 5 kids from rural backdrop in Jharkhand who were just able to read at least words has gone down extensively.
Children across the State studying in Std 5 who were able to read at least words in 2007 were approximately 60.2 per cent that has eventually gone down to 47.8 per cent in 2014.
The ASER 2016 report will be released officially on January 18.
The report that has covered various aspects from reading skills to solving arithmetic at primary stage depicts the deteriorating standard of education being imparted to the kids in rural belts of Jharkhand. According to the report in 2007, on an average 38.7 per cent kids studying in class 3 were familiar with subtraction. However, the number again dropped down here to 19.5 per cent in 2014 putting a question mark on quality of education.
The report tabulated by ASER considered minor calculation skills among kids additionally. Several students face problems in solving subtraction enrolled in class 3. The report showed a sharp declining trend. In the year 2007, children who can do at least subtraction in government scools in the State was 36.3 per cent that has come down to 12.1 in 2014.
Interestingly, the reading over time level from 2006-2014 has registered a downfall as well, children in class 5 who can read a standard 2 level text was around 60.1 per cent in the State in 2006 which has come down to 34.4 per cent in 2014. Similarly, in 2006, 58.5 per cent students in class 5 were capable of reading standard 2 level texts by school type in 2006 in government schools that has declined to 29.1 per cent in Jharkhand in 2014.
Notably, the ASER survey was conducted from 2005 to 2014 in almost every rural district of India. The survey done by ASER in 2016 focuses on schooling, basic reading and arithmetic. The survey under experts kicked off on August 30 last.
As many as 150 team members who lead the ASER effort in their respective states attended the workshop to be trained on the ASER 2016 process of carrying out the survey.