3 min readChandigarhJan 28, 2025 02:53 PM IST
First published on: Jan 28, 2025 at 02:45 PM IST
Students aged 6 to 14 in Haryana’s government schools have had higher learning gains than their counterparts in private schools in the last two years, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) released by the Pratham Foundation on Tuesday revealed.
According to the report, Haryana has witnessed major improvements in basic reading and arithmetic in all grades, especially in early grades in the last two years. As many as 53.9 per cent of children enrolled in Class 5 in Haryana government schools could at least read a Class 2-level text in 2024. In 2022, this was 46.8 per cent – an improvement of 7.1 percentage points. For students in Haryana private schools, there was an improvement of 1.1 percentage points, from 71.8 per cent in 2022 to 72.9 per cent in 2024.
According to the report, in 2024, 29.4 per cent of Class 5 students in Haryana government schools were able to at least read a Class 2-level text and solve a three-digit by one-digit division problem. This was 27.6 per cent in 2022 — an improvement of 1.8 percentage points, as per the report. Students in private schools in the same class have witnessed a decline in the learning level by 3.1 percentage points under this category – from 60 per cent in 2022 to 56.9 per cent in 2024.
However, it is clear from the report that the learning standard of private school students is much higher than their counterparts in government schools.
The foundation surveyed 23,725 students in 626 villages of Haryana’s 21 districts.
The ASER report found that at 98.8 per cent, there was very high overall enrolment in schools in the 6-14 age group, indicating nearly universal enrolment. Enrolment in early childhood (3-4 years) education programmes or pre-school was also found to be high – over 80 per cent. The number of underage (under 5 years of age) children enrolled in Class 1 has declined. In 2024, 24.2 per cent of Class I students were found to be underage, as per the report.
According to the report, the percentage of children in the 15-16 age group who are still out of school is less than five, with a 1.3% gender gap in enrolment. Access to smartphones is high for the 15-16 age group with nearly 90 per cent able to do basic digital tasks, it added.
The report also said that the basic school facilities like mid-day meals, usable toilets, electricity, and libraries have improved during the past two years. For example, the percentage of usable toilets for boys increased from 71.4 per cent in 2022 to 78.7 per cent in 2024.
Schools approached by the foundation during the survey informed that they were receiving directives, training, and materials or funds related to strengthening foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) for early grades in primary school.
Since the launch of the National Education Policy in 2020, the report said, high priority has been placed on helping children in early grades in primary school acquire FLN skills. To strengthen the education system for delivering FLN skills to children, there have been focused inputs on teacher training and appropriate teaching-learning materials for early grades. Three-month “school readiness” programmes for Class I children have been conducted in 84.5 per cent of government primary schools, the report stated.
The percentage of children in the 15-16 age group who are still out of school is less than five, with a 1.3% gender gap in enrolment. (Source: Express Archives) 
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