ASER 2024 Report: Insights on Enrolment, Literacy, Numeracy, and Digital Skills in Indian Elementary Education
- MGMMTeam
- Feb 14, 2025
- 10 min read
School education in rural India is experiencing a steady yet significant rebound from the setbacks caused by the Covid pandemic. According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 by NGO Pratham, notable progress has been made despite challenges, driven by government initiatives such as the National Education Policy 2020 and NIPUN Bharat.
Sharp Increase in Pre-Primary School Enrolments
The ASER 2024 report is based on a survey covering 649,491 children aged 3 to 16 from 17,997 villages across 605 districts. The study assessed the reading and arithmetic skills of over 500,000 children in the 5-16 age group. The findings highlight a notable increase in pre-school enrollment among children aged 3-5. According to the report, the enrollment rate of 3-year-olds in pre-primary institutions has surged from 68.1% in 2018 to 77.4% in 2024. States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana have nearly achieved universal enrollment for this age group. However, Uttar Pradesh and Meghalaya have the highest proportions of 3-year-olds—over 50%—who are not enrolled in any pre-primary institution, including Anganwadi centers, government pre-primary classes, or private LKG/UKG.
According to the report, the enrolment rate of 4-year-olds in pre-primary institutions increased from 76% in 2018 to 82% in 2022, reaching 83.3% in 2024. “In 2024, enrollment rates in pre-primary for this age exceed 95% in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha,” the report reads.
The enrollment rate of 5-year-olds in pre-primary institutions has shown a steady rise, increasing from 58.5% in 2018 to 62.2% in 2022 and reaching 71.4% in 2024. States such as Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Nagaland have recorded enrollment rates exceeding 90% for this age group.
As of 2024, nearly one-third of 5-year-olds are attending a government or private school or preschool. In 2018, this percentage stood at 37.3%, but it declined to 30.8% in 2022 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, by 2024, there has been a notable recovery, with 37.5% of 5-year-olds enrolled in private schools or preschools. Punjab and Kashmir have particularly seen significant improvements in pre-primary enrollment in government schools.
Additionally, the proportion of underage children in Grade 1 has been decreasing. In 2018, this figure was 25.6%, which dropped to 22.7% in 2022, and by 2024, it saw a significant decline. According to ASER findings, the national percentage of underage children in Grade 1 reached its lowest recorded level at 16.7%, with Gujarat experiencing a dramatic reduction from 36.4% in 2022 to just 4% in 2024.
Elementary Education: Key Statistics and Trends in 2024
The report highlights that school enrollment rates among children aged 6-14 have exceeded 95% for nearly two decades, maintaining a steady percentage in 2024, with enrollment dropping slightly from 98.4% in 2022 to 98.1% in 2024. Enrollment in this age group remains above 95% across all states in 2024.
While there was significant progress in government school enrollments before the pandemic and in 2022, the all-India figure for 2024 declined to 66.8%, with Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir being the only exceptions.
The children included in the survey underwent a Reading Assessment Test to determine if they could read letters, words, a simple paragraph at the STD I level, or a story at the STD II level. According to ASER 2024, there was a notable improvement in reading levels among children in government schools across all elementary grades (Class 1 to 8).
For STD III (Class 3) students in government schools, basic reading levels were at their highest since ASER began in 2005. The report noted that in 2018, 20.9% of Std III children could read at least a Std II level text, but this figure dropped to 16.3% in 2022. In 2024, it increased to 23.4%.
ASER attributed this improvement to the progress made in government schools, which outpaced the recovery in private schools. States like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh have shown notable success in this area.
“Following a decline in Std III reading levels in government schools in most states in 2022, all states have shown a recovery in 2024. States with more than a 10 percentage point increase in this proportion between 2022 and 2024 in government schools include Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, and Maharashtra,” the report states.
For Class 5 students, reading proficiency has improved, particularly among those attending government schools. According to the report, the percentage of Class 5 students in government schools who could read a Class 2-level text declined from 44.2% in 2018 to 38.5% in 2022 but rebounded to 44.8% in 2024. The survey also noted a slight improvement in reading levels among private school students.
“Small improvements are also seen in reading levels for Std V children in private schools, which fell from 65.1% in 2018 to 56.8% in 2022 and increased to 59.3% in 2024. In 2024, Mizoram (64.9) and Himachal Pradesh (64.8%) had the highest proportions of Std V children in government schools able to read Std II level text. States with over a 10 percentage point increase in this proportion in government schools include Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu,” the report reads.
For students in STD VIII at government schools, reading levels have rebounded from a dip in 2022, reaching 67.5%. This is slightly lower than the 69% recorded in 2018 but an improvement from 66.2% in 2022. While private school students showed stable results, government school improvements were observed in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Sikkim, while declines were seen in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
Alongside the reading assessment, students were also evaluated on their arithmetic skills. The ASER arithmetic tasks assess whether children aged 5-16 can recognize numbers from 1 to 9, identify numbers between 11 and 99, perform two-digit subtraction with borrowing, and solve three-digit by one-digit division problems.
The results revealed a decade-high improvement for both government and private school students. In 2018, 28.2% of STD 3 students could solve at least a subtraction problem, a figure that dropped to 25.9% in 2022. However, in 2024, this rose to 33.7%, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. While private school students showed minimal improvement, government school students increased from 20.9% in 2018 to 20.2% in 2022, rising to 27.6% in 2024. Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh saw significant improvements, with a 15 percentage point increase.
For STD 5 and 8 students, the figures increased to 30.7% and 45.8%, respectively, in 2024.
Looking at the state-wise enrollment rates for children aged 6-14 in government schools, the ASER data shows that in 2024, states such as Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Haryana had the lowest enrollment rates between 30-50%. Bihar, Odisha, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal reported the highest enrollment rates between 81-90%. Karnataka, Jharkhand, and Tripura had enrollment rates between 71-80%, while Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh fell into the 61-70% category. Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Telangana had enrollment rates ranging from 51-60%.
Enrollment Data of Children in Government and Private Schools
At the national level, the percentage of children aged 15-16 who were not enrolled in school decreased from 13.1% in 2018 to 7.5% in 2022, before slightly rising to 7.9% in 2024. However, the proportion of girls not enrolled in school saw a minor increase from 7.9% in 2022 to 8.1% in 2024.
Among children aged 6-14, 66.8% of the sampled students were enrolled in government schools, 30.6% in private schools, 0.7% in Madrasas or Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) institutions, while 1.9% were not enrolled in any educational institution. For the 7-16 age group, 66.0% attended government schools, 30.8% were in private schools, 0.7% studied in Madrasas or EGS, and 2.5% were not enrolled anywhere. In the 7-10 age group, 67.5% were in government schools, 30.7% in private schools, 0.7% in other institutions, and 1.2% were not enrolled in any school.
Enhancing Foundational Literacy & Numeracy: Boosting Attendance and Adapting to Small Schools & Multigrade Classrooms
According to the report, ASER surveyors visited 15,728 government schools with primary sections, including 8,504 primary schools and 7,224 schools that also offered upper primary or higher grades. The survey findings indicate that over 80% of these schools received government directives to implement Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) activities for students in grades 1-2 or 3. Additionally, approximately 80% of the schools had at least one teacher who had undergone FLN training.
“More than 75% schools had received TLM and/or funds to make or purchase TLM for FLN activities. More than 75% of schools reported implementing a school readiness program for students prior to entering Std I, in both the previous and the current academic year. More than 95% schools reported having distributed textbooks to all grades in the school, a substantial increase over 2022 levels,” the report reads.
There has been a steady improvement in attendance levels among both students and teachers in primary schools. The average student attendance increased from 72.4% in 2018 to 73% in 2022 and further to 75.9% in 2024. Similarly, the average teacher attendance rose from 85.1% in 2018 to 86.8% in 2022 and 87.5% in 2024. This upward trend is primarily influenced by changes in attendance patterns in Uttar Pradesh.
ASER 2024 also highlights a significant rise in the proportion of government primary schools with fewer than 60 enrolled students, increasing from 44% in 2022 to 52.1% in 2024. The report notes that over 80% of primary schools in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Nagaland, and Karnataka are classified as small schools, with Himachal Pradesh having the highest percentage—75%—of small upper primary schools.
Regarding multigrade classrooms, ASER states, “Two-thirds of Std I and Std II classrooms in primary schools were multigrade, with students from more than one grade sitting together.”
Minor yet Significant Enhancements in School Facilities
Referring to indicators related to the Right to Education, ASER reports modest improvements between 2018, 2022, and 2024. The report highlights that the percentage of schools with functional girls' toilets increased from 66.4% in 2018 to 68.4% in 2022 and further to 72% in 2024. Similarly, the availability of drinking water in schools rose from 74.8% to 76.1% to 77.7%, while the proportion of schools where students use books beyond textbooks grew from 36.9% to 43.9% to 51.3% over the same period.
Despite these improvements across all states, ASER emphasized that schools in Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland still lag in these facilities. Meanwhile, sports-related indicators have largely remained at 2018 levels, with only a slight improvement observed in 2022.
Enhancing Digital Literacy: Expanding Smartphone Access and Skills for Teens (14-16)
According to the report, this is the first time ASER has incorporated a digital literacy section, which was administered to children aged 14-16. The survey findings reveal that nearly 90% of both boys and girls have a smartphone at home, with over 80% (85.5% of boys and 79.4% of girls) being able to use one. Compared to other states, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh have a lower proportion of children who own a smartphone at home and those who know how to use it.
The ASER reports on smartphone ownership, stating that “Of the children who could use a smartphone, 27% of 14-year-olds and 37.8% of 16-year-olds reported having their own phone. Moreover, there is a large gender gap in smartphone ownership: 36.2% of boys as compared to 26.9% of girls reported owning their own smartphone. This gender gap is seen across all states.”
The report also revealed that 82.2% of children aged 14-16 are proficient in using smartphones, with 57% utilizing them for educational purposes. Additionally, many in this age group engage with social media, with a higher percentage of boys using it compared to girls.
“While the use of a smartphone for educational activities was similar among girls and boys, girls were less likely than boys to report using social media (78.8% of boys as compared to 73.4% of girls). Kerala stands out in this respect, with over 80% of children who reported that they used the smartphone for educational activity and over 90% using it for social media,” the report says.
According to the report, the children included in the survey were asked to perform tasks such as setting an alarm, searching for specific information, finding a YouTube video on their smartphones, and sharing it via a messaging platform. Most children successfully completed these tasks, with over 90% able to locate and share a YouTube video. However, gender disparities were evident across all tasks, especially in setting an alarm.
“More than three-quarters of children to whom these tasks were given were able to perform them successfully. Among those who could locate the video on YouTube, over 90% were able to share it. Gender gaps were observed in performance on every task, with the largest gap in children’s ability to set an alarm on the smartphone (81.5% boys as compared to 72.4% girls). In some southern states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, girls either outperform boys or are at the same level as them,” the report said.
The ASER discovered that these children were not only proficient in handling basic smartphone functions and using social media but also aware of how to safeguard themselves online. “62% knew how to block or report a profile, 55.2% knew how to make a profile private, and 57.7% knew how to change a password. Boys’ awareness of these safety features was substantially higher than girls’ across a majority of the states,” the ASER said.
Significant Decline in Unschooled Mothers: From 47% to 29% in Just 8 Years
Over the past eight years, maternal education levels have significantly improved. According to the ASER report, the percentage of mothers (of children aged 5-16) who have never attended school has dropped from 46.6% in 2016 to 29.4% in 2024. This shift is attributed to the impact of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan—now Samagra Shiksha—launched in 2001-02 to achieve universal enrollment.
What’s even more remarkable is that these women are not just attending school but also continuing their education beyond class 10. In 2016, only 9.2% of mothers had studied past class 10. However, this figure has risen by 10 percentage points to 19.5% in 2024, with Kerala leading the way, followed by Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal have also recorded a similar 10 percentage point increase. In contrast, Madhya Pradesh, where 3.6% of mothers had studied beyond class 10 in 2016, saw only a modest rise to 9.7% in 2024, making it the weakest-performing state in this regard.
At the national level, the proportion of mothers who have studied beyond class 10 has increased from 9.2% in 2016 to 19.2% in 2024.
Additionally, ASER noted a modest eight percentage point rise in the number of fathers who have studied beyond class 10—from 17.4% in 2016 to 25% in 2024. Notably, over the last eight years, the gap between the educational attainment of mothers and fathers beyond class 10 has narrowed significantly.
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