‘In Haryana, only 79.6% Class I and II students can read letters and words’

According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012, only 79.6 per cent students studying in Classes I and II in Haryana schools could read letters and words, while in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, 86.3 and 89.6 per cent students studying at same level could read books.

Moreover, only 58.2 per cent of students studying in Classes VI and VII could read sentences in English and 56.9 per cent solved mathematics division sums in Haryana schools. At the same time, while in Himachal, 72 per cent Classes VI and VII students could read English sentences and 64. 5 per cent solved divisions, in Punjab, the figure was 66.3 per cent and 61.2 per cent respectively.

Debunking the claims of Haryana government that providing quality education is its priority, ASER- 2012 also found that the ability to solve simple arithmetic sums was declining among state students. In 2010, 58.4 per cent Class V students could solved 3-digit by 1-digit division sums. This percentage came down to 42.9 per cent in 2012.

“Decline in learning levels is more severe in government schools. Only 50 per cent students of Class V in government schools could solve a 3-digit by 1-digit division sums in 2010. Now, this has reduced to 25. 4 per cent,” the report stated.

However, 13.4 per cent students between the age group of 6 to 14

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