Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2013 (Provisional)

This report on the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2013 prepared by the non-profit Pratham Education Foundation recently pointed out that the quality of learning—as measured by reading, writing, and basic arithmetic skills—has either shown no improvement or actually worsened over a period of nine years, which came under the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance government’s rule in rural India. This report validated the concerns of many working in the field of education. Although there was an increase in the number of enrolments, there was no emphasis on the standard of education to be provided. This deteriorating standard of education led to parents withdrawing their wards from government schools and enrolling them in private English medium schools instead; which seemingly promises a better quality of education even in rural India.