Right to Education Act may be behind falling school learning: ASER survey

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Anubhuti Vishnoi: New Delhi, Jan 18 2013, 02:58 IST

School-level enrolment rates continue to rise, the Right to Education Act (RTE) seems to be helping develop better school infrastructure and there are more toilets for girls in schools — these are the few encouraging findings during 2012 in what otherwise is yet another alarming Annual Status of Education Report (ASER).

The ASER findings, published by NGO Pratham, underscore the declining reading levels and learning outcomes across states, with indications that the trend worsened last year.

More than half of all children in class 5 are at least three grade levels behind where they should be in terms of learning levels, says the report. And the blame must partly be attributed to the UPA’s flagship Right to Education Act, ASER 2012 seems to suggest.

Pratham CEO Madhav Chavan blamed this on relaxed classroom rigour and the no-exam format ushered in by the RTE Act. Only 30 per cent of class 3 students could read a class 1 text book in 2012, down from 50 per cent in 2008.

The number of children in government schools who can correctly recognise numbers up to 100 has dropped to 50 per cent from 70 per cent over the last four years, with the real downward turn distinctly visible after 2010, the year RTE came into force, Chavan said.

“There has been a feeling that RTE may have led to relaxation of classroom teaching since all exams and assessments are scrapped and no child is kept back. Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation is now a part of the law and

... contd.

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Reader's Comments (9)| Post a Comment

Myth of right to education

Dr.N.Ramasubramanyan | 18-Jan-2013Reply | Forward

Mr. Kapil Sibal claimed that Right To Education Act would bring about qualitative change in school education. But only enrolment has gone up. There is no guarantee for enhancing quality which has been proved now. Secondly apeing the west in the form of CCE without proper teacher traing&their commitment, not equipping the children properly have proved to be a failure. Thirdly scrapping exams has proved to be fatal. Private schools have proved to be better than govt schools because of higher level of commitment of teachers, though govt school teachers are more competent generally but indifferent to schools, with terrible trade union attitude.Govt is incapable of enforcing discipline among them. But most important reason is very low quality people joining teaching profession. Tet exam results have emphatically proved this. Private schools are subject to so many rules to comply. Despite so many freebies in govt schools, even poor people have expressed vote of no confidence against them.

Strictly Supervise the Performance of Teachers in Government Schools

jyoti | 18-Jan-2013Reply | Forward

The government should take some strict actions to supervise the quality of education delivered in government schools. In private schools, teachers are under strict supervision and their performance is evaluated regularly. But, in most of the government schools, teachers are just happy to secure permanent government job and hardly care about the career of students. For example, in Delhi, now students in government schools are taught English from class first onwards instead of class VIth onwards. But, surprisingly students in VI and Viith class hardly know anything more than ABC. It is time for government to take some strict action to supervise the quality of education imparted in government schools. Merely introduction of books is worthless without introduction of quality educationists.

right to education

ashok Agarwal Adv | 18-Jan-2013Reply | Forward

I totally disagree with the ASER survery suggesting that RTE may be behind falling school learning. The situation qua learning levels of students has remained the same both in PRE RTE and POST RTE. It is all due to the fact that no one in the Government is serious to make Government Schools functional.