In rural areas of the state, state-run schools are still the first preference of parents, making the enrolment of students in the private institutes low.

According to the Annual Status of Education (ASER) survey, in the age group of 6-14 years (both boys and girls), around 58.3 per cent students are enrolled in government schools while the enrolment of students in the private schools is 40.1 per cent.

A total of 1.3 per cent students are still not in school. Similarly, 37.3 per cent students aged between 7 and 16 years have been enrolled in the private schools, while the percentage of enrolment in government schools in rural areas is 59.6 per cent. Around 2.7 per cent students are not enrolled in the schools.

In the age group between 7 and 10 years, 44.3 per cent students have been enrolled in the private schools, while 54.9 per cent in government schools.

Another cause for concern is the poor enrolment of girls in private schools as compared to boys.

As per the data available, a meager 18.6 per cent girls aged between 15 and 16 years have been enrolled in private schools in rural areas. The percentage of girl enrolment in government schools is 68.5 per cent. Around 12.5 girls are not enrolled in schools.

The enrolment of boys in the same age group in private schools is 26.6 per cent, while 66.2 per cent boys are enrolled in government schools and 7.1 per cent are not enrolled in any school.

The enrolment of girls aged between 11 and 14 years in the private schools is 33.7 per cent, while the percentage of enrolment in government schools is 63.4 per cent. Around 2.4 per cent girls in the same age group are not enrolled in schools.

In the overall age group of 11-14 years, only 36.8 per cent students are enrolled in government schools and the percentage of enrolment in government schools is 61 per cent. Around 1.8 per cent students are not enrolled in any school.

About Annual Status of Education

It is a household-based rather than a school-based survey. Facilitated by Pratham, ASER is carried out by about 500 partner organisations and over 25,000 volunteers across the country. A total of 546,527 children in the age group of 3 to 16 years were surveyed in 2018 across the country.

Source: Originally posted in Tribune