5 min readDec 20, 2023 10:59 AM IST
First published on: Dec 20, 2023 at 10:22 AM IST
The Right to Free and Compulsory Education (2009) guarantees elementary schooling to all children in the age group of 6-14 years. By 2018, the percentage of 6-14 years out of school children had come down to 2.8 per cent. The government had also launched the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan in 2009 to enhance access to secondary education. However, the transition rates to secondary schools were slower to change. Between 2010 and 2018, the proportion of 15-16 year olds currently not enrolled in school fell from 16.1 per cent to 13.1 per cent.
In March 2020, schools in India and the rest of the world closed down due to Covid-19. India had one of the longest durations of school closures with schools, especially primary schools, remaining closed for almost two years. Apart from fears of learning loss associated with such long school closures, there was also the apprehension that with loss of livelihoods, older children would drop out of school.
However, enrollment data from the Covid years belied such fears. ASER 2020-21, showed a minor increase in out of school numbers, but that was primarily for the younger age group of 6-10 years, most likely driven by delay in recording enrollments. In fact, once the situation settled down, the proportion of 6-14 year old children not enrolled in school fell further to 1.6 per cent in 2022 – the lowest it has been in the decade since the RTE came into effect. Even more heartening was the secular decline in the out of school proportion of 15-16 year olds, which fell from 16.1 per cent in 2010 to 9.9 per cent in 2020 and stood at 7.5 per cent in 2022.
The fact that more and more children are completing grade VIII and transitioning to secondary school bodes well for the quality of India’s labour force. However, the “demographic dividend” can only be exploited if the labour force has the requisite skills to participate productively in the economy’s growth process. The economy and the world are very different now. The World Development Report talks about the emerging “digital dividend” from the rapid expansion of digital technologies. It states that if we can bridge the digital divide the impact of digital technologies on development can be much greater.
The other big (positive) change we saw during the Covid years was the penetration of smartphones in rural India. While mobile coverage was almost universal, only 36 per cent of rural households had a smartphone in 2018. During 2020-21, with the economy and the education system transitioning to a virtual mode, having access to a digital device almost became a necessity. Children’s access to educational materials, while schools were closed, was completely dependent on having access to a smartphone since by and large the schools shared educational resources via WhatsApp. Similarly, for working adults as well as the self-employed, livelihoods depended on digital access and literacy. The proportion of rural households with a smartphone almost doubled during the pandemic to 67.6 per cent and further to 74.8 per cent in 2022.
Along with rising access to digital devices, with more and more youth completing elementary education and transitioning to the secondary stage, India is well placed to exploit both the “demographic” as well as the “digital” dividend.
This year the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) shines the light on rural youth — 14 to 18 year olds. Choices made by the youth today will impact future opportunities not just for them, but also for the economy as a whole.
What are young people doing? Are they studying in schools or colleges or in vocational or technical courses? Are they working? What are their study and work aspirations and do they have role models who can help them achieve these aspirations? Can our youth apply basic reading and arithmetic abilities to navigate everyday tasks like making a budget? Answers to these questions can help to identify areas where support is needed as well as act as a barometer to enable better planning at the policy level.
With the recent focus on the role EdTech can play in delivering educational resources as well as providing targeted instruction to students who are lagging behind, it is important to have reliable evidence on the digital literacy of youth. What kinds of digital activities are they engaging in? Can they do simple digital tasks that can help them in school, home and work?
The quality of our labour force has to keep pace with our developmental needs. And, this can only happen if our youth are well supported to achieve their aspirations and participate productively in the economy.
The writer is Director, ASER Centre
Measuring digital literacy has become crucial since the pandemic. 
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