ASER 2024 gains laudable, singular focus on FLN needed for next 10 years Premium

ASER 2024 shows significant improvement in reading and arithmetic skills, emphasizing the importance of sustained focus on basic skills.

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) for 2024, shows a 7-10% jump in reading and arithmetic in the last two years between 2022 to 2024. ASER surveys have been done regularly since 2005 and such a significant jump was never seen across the country. This jump in basic learning outcomes, therefore, is laudable.

But we must keep in mind that it comes after a deep drop in learning due to Covid. ASER 2022 showed that after nearly two years of school closures, there was a massive drop in the already low learning levels in students across the country. So this jump in ASER 2024 reflects a recovery to pre-covid levels.

Two factors led to this quick recovery. First, the State governments recognised and addressed learning losses due to Covid with focused efforts immediately after schools reopened. Tamil Nadu, for instance, implemented a statewide programme called Illam Thedi Kalvi.

Second, there has been a slow policy movement towards Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) since pre-Covid years. At the national and State level there has been a push to initiate programmes in FLN. In Tamil Nadu, an FLN initiative called Ennum Ezhuthum was launched.

The combination of FLN initiatives and Covid learning loss recovery initiatives meant that for the first time in the country, there was such a strong consistent attention to basic skills over two years. This is the reason for the significant jump in learning levels seen in ASER 2024. This is fantastic evidence that a country-wide focus on basic skills does produce a significant measurable impact within a short period.

The shift in government policy towards Foundational Literacy and Numeracy is quite recent. For most of the second decade of this century, governments dismissed the data. They refused to accept the need for the focus on basic skills. The norm was setting higher and higher learning goals every few years. This pushed teachers to focus on completing the syllabus instead of ensuring that all children achieved basic skills.

It is extremely important to sustain a sharp focus on basic skills for at least the next ten years. There is much talk about skilling today because many educated graduates are found to unemployable. The roots of this problem go back to the lack of basic reading and maths skills imparted to students at the primary school level. Achieving high FLN levels is integral to future employability and skilled human resources. It is needed for the multi-trillion dollar economy goals set by the government.