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ASER 2024: key insights on India’s foundational learning crisis and the path forward

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India’s education system has been under intense scrutiny in recent years, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 provides a much-needed insight into the state of foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) across the country. While some States have made commendable progress, others continue to lag, highlighting stark disparities in learning outcomes across India. While media reports, individual comments, and opinions on social media have highlighted these disparities, a structured policy mandate that decision-makers at the State and Union levels need to follow remains elusive.

Top performers: the beacon of progress

Certain States have demonstrated remarkable progress in foundational learning, particularly in reading and arithmetic skills among primary school students. Leading the charge are Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Mizoram, and Maharashtra, where a significant proportion of students in government schools can read at grade-appropriate levels and perform basic mathematical operations.

Kerala continues to maintain its reputation as an education leader. According to ASER 2024, over 73% of Class 5 students in government schools can read a Class 2 level text​. This is one of the highest literacy rates recorded in the country, a testament to the State’s long-standing investments in early childhood education, teacher training, and community engagement.

Mizoram with 64.9% and Himachal Pradesh with 64.8% have reported some of the highest proportions of Class 5 students who can read at Class 2 level​. These states have focused on teacher training, structured pedagogy, and student attendance to ensure better learning outcomes.

Maharashtra, which suffered learning losses during the pandemic, has shown its resilience with a good recovery. The Class 5 reading levels have climbed back to 59.3% from 56.8% in 2022. It shows the State’s post-pandemic education recovery plans have yielded results​.

The lagging states: where urgent action is needed

While some States have made steady progress, others continue to struggle with low literacy and numeracy levels. The ASER 2024 report identifies Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal as States requiring focused interventions.

Uttar Pradesh has seen a significant improvement in foundational literacy since 2014. Especially in the last three years, the State has bounded fast. It is much ahead of leaders such as Tamil Nadu. However, it still lags behind many other States.

The percentage of Class 3 students in government schools who can read a Class 2 level text jumped from 16.4% in 2022 to 27.9% in 2024​. The challenges remain, particularly in teacher absenteeism and quality of instruction, as the report suggests.

States in critical need of reform

States that need transformative efforts urgently for improving learning milestones are Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. Here both reading and arithmetic levels remain gravely low, even related to their own pre-pandemic levels.

Rajasthan has seen a disturbing decline in foundational literacy. In Class 5, only 39.9% of government school students can read a Class 2 level text, a sizable drop from previous years​. Critical measures are necessary to train teachers and boost student engagement.

Warning bells strike in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh for numeracy. The two report some of the lowest arithmetic levels in India as only about 27% of students can perform basic division, highlighting an acute division in numeracy skills​.

Tamil Nadu is a unique case. It has been a strong performer, but the latest reports are worrying because the State’s growth seems to be plateauing in literacy and numeracy skills of primary school children. Over the decades, every government has consistently invested in education including robust midday meal programs, and relatively strong teacher recruitment policies leading to consistent growth. 

The ASER 2024 report indicates that 52.5% of Class 5 students in Tamil Nadu can read a Class 2 level text, which is above the national average. However, the improvement rate over the past few years has been relatively slow, suggesting that while Tamil Nadu maintains a high standard, it may be reaching a plateau.

The key issue to worry about is the widening disparity between government and private school performance in the State. Private schools in Tamil Nadu are outperforming government schools in foundational literacy and numeracy – pointing to an urgent need for better resource allocation and targeted interventions in government schools.

Three specific areas that Tamil Nadu should focus on are: Reducing the undue importance given to rote learning while introducing advanced pedagogical methods; strengthening digital learning infrastructure; and further improving teacher recruitment methods even while enhancing teacher motivation to sustain the growth and learning gains. 

Similar is the case of Delhi. The Delhi Model Schools Initiative has significantly improved school infrastructure and student outcomes. However, the ASER 2024 data suggests that Delhi’s learning gains are stabilising rather than accelerating. Of worry is mathematical skill development among a significant proportion. Students in Delhi are struggling with division and word problems. Despite curriculum changes, teacher training on numeracy-focused interventions needs further strengthening, specifically math-focused learning programs that incorporate real life application based teaching and increased teacher training.

International best practices

It will not be odious at this point in time for governments to look at international best practices especially to strengthen primary school education and maintain student motivation to improve learning outcomes. 

First is identifying the problem here and it is quite apparent: India’s educational assessment system heavily relies on rote learning and high-stakes examinations, repeatedly leaving students under extreme pressure while failing to sufficiently assess critical thinking, creativity, or problem-solving skills.

Taking a leaf out of the globally renowned Finnish school system, governments can experiment at least in pockets by shifting to classroom-based assessments (instead of standard examinations) that measure real-world applications

It is quite possible to implement a sampling-based national assessment as done in Finland which focuses on policy improvement rather than student ranking.

Quite clearly in both State and Central Board schools, Indian teachers lack autonomy in designing assessments and are often burdened with non-teaching duties. A national policy initiative that trickles down to the state which asks school teachers to take up sustained and in-service training to create and roll out modern assessment techniques as well as designing customised curriculum, should be a mid-term priority. This practice is prevalent in countries that lead in school education.

Another urgent policy intervention could be a radical shift to skill-based and practical assessments inspired by Japan and Cuba. Introducing interdisciplinary, project-based assessments that test critical thinking, collaboration, and application-based learning is not easy to conceive but needs to be done within specific deadlines. This can lead to expanding vocational training at the school level itself, incorporating apprenticeship models and real-world projects.



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