Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 Released by NGO Pratham Foundation

Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 Released by NGO Pratham Foundation

The ASER is a nationwide rural household survey that assesses children’s schooling and learning status. It evaluates the schooling status of children aged 3-16 and their ability to read simple text and perform basic arithmetic for those aged 5-16. The ASER survey was conducted annually from 2005 to 2014, after which it switched to an alternate-year cycle.

Key Findings:

• Reversing the Learning Gap: There has been an improvement in basic reading and arithmetic skills among students in classes 3 and 5 in rural areas, with recovery from the post-pandemic learning setbacks.
• Overall Improvement: Both reading and arithmetic skills have improved for all elementary grades (Standards I-VIII) since 2022, with arithmetic showing the greatest improvement over the past decade.
• Digital Literacy: For the first time in 2024, the ASER survey includes a component on ‘Digital Literacy’ for children aged 14-16.
• Smartphone Access: Nearly universal access to smartphones is reported, with almost 90% of both girls and boys having a smartphone at home.
• Gender Gap in Smartphone Ownership: 36.2% of boys own a smartphone compared to just 26.9% of girls.
• Smartphone Usage: Smartphones are primarily used for social media rather than educational purposes, with only 57% of teenagers using them for learning, while approximately 76% use them for social media.
• School Infrastructure: ASER shows slight improvements across all Right to Education indicators, including functional girls' toilets and drinking water facilities.

Tags : UPSC 2025 current affairs preparation, UPSC current affairs January 2025, UPSC 2025 daily current affairs, Best sources for UPSC current affairs 2025, UPSC 2025 current affairs for prelims, UPSC 2025 current affairs for mains, Important current affairs for UPSC 2025, UPSC current affairs strategy 2025, UPSC 2025 current affairs notes, UPSC current affairs PDF 2025, Current affairs for UPSC 2025 preparation, UPSC 2025 current affairs online classes, UPSC current affairs quiz 2025, How to study current affairs for UPSC 2025, UPSC 2025 current affairs magazines, Current affairs for UPSC 2025 prelims and mains, Current affairs updates for UPSC 2025, UPSC 2025 current affairs analysis, Current affairs for UPSC 2025 PDF download, UPSC 2025 current affairs important topics, UPSC reading comprehension tips, UPSC reading comprehension practice papers,  UPSC reading comprehension strategy, UPSC reading comprehension questions,  UPSC reading comprehension exercises,  How to improve reading comprehension for UPSC, UPSC reading comprehension question papers PDF,  Important reading comprehension topics for UPSC, UPSC reading comprehension passage solutions, UPSC reading comprehension best books, UPSC GS reading comprehension examples, UPSC Prelims reading comprehension preparation,