A N N U A L  S T A T U S  of  E D U C A T I O N  R E P O R T  (2005)

Pratham, a Mumbai and Delhi based NGO, in the field of primary rural education for nearly a decade, recently facilitated an all India survey, ASER 2005 (Annual Status of Education Report).

The objectives of ASER 2005 were:

***to know and understand the status of learning and teaching in randomly selected areas in each district  
***to inform parents, elected representatives of PRI, teachers, and administrators about the findings
***to help and to participate in finding solutions to low literacy and numeracy levels at elementary stages
***to encourage future district-level SSA plans to be based on local needs  
***to assist in effective implementation of plans

ASER 2005 survey was carried out by 770 partner organizations, who contributed 20,000 volunteers, who visited 200,000 households in 10,000 villages and schools of 509 districts of rural India. The volunteers asked the following questions in the villages:
 
•How many children are enrolled in school?
•How many children can
.....Read simple sentences?
.....Solve simple subtraction and division sums?
•How many children and teachers were attending the government primary school in the village on the day of the visit?
•In the local government primary school, was there water, toilet, classrooms, textbooks and midday meals?

Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, in New Delhi, released the National Report of ASER 2005 on the 17th of January, 2006, and congratulated Pratham leaders, Dr. Madhav Chavan and Dr Rukmini Banerjee on conceptualising such a worth while project. He was sure that, with the dedication of the people involved in the group, EACH CHILD IN SCHOOL, AND EACH CHILD LEARNING WELL, will soon be a reality.
 
On the 27th of January, the West Bengal state report of ASER 2005 was presented to the Governor of West Bengal, Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi, by 2 volunteers who had participated in the survey. The presentation function was held in the courtyard of the SSA school of the Raj Bhawan, a very apt choice of venue made by Shri Gandhi.

This function was attended by representatives of all the partner groups in West Bengal, children of the school and from neighbouring areas, and general public.  A demonstration of how the survey tests were conducted was held, with the co-operation of the children who had assembled from the locality. The children gave a demonstration of their reading and simple mathematical computational ability. Shri Gandhi interacted with the children, the volunteers and the head master of the school, and showed such keen interest in the proceedings, that he extended his 30 minunte slot to nearly an hour.  He visited the schoolrooms and freely mixed with the children, complimenting them at every step, especially when the child went smoothly through a testing sheet.  Shri Gandhi hoped that this initial step would lead to greater things in education not only in the classroom, but outside as well.

The highlight of the function was a boy, about 11, working in a mishti shop, who solved simple mathematical problems with great fluency, but could not read the alphabet.  He was not attending any school because of lack of funds, and the illness of his parents.  Shri Gandhi was very keen that the talents of this boy, Bhim Bagui, be nurtured by a special teacher, arranged by a voluntary organisation. Members of Calcutta Foundation assured Shri Gandhi that this would be done in the near future.
 
95% of the children in the randomly sampled villages go to school, which is higher than the national average of 93.5%. On an average, West Bengal scores higher than the national average.  Is that good enough?  Mid-day meals, water, toilets.... Are the facilities satisfactory? Can we sit back complacently and say, “All is right with primary education in rural India?” WHAT NEXT?

Answers will have to be found, plans formed.  The findings of ASER 2005 will be disseminated and discussed widely in the districts, amongst various groups of people. The findings, hopefully, will find their way into the annual plans of SSA for that district, so that the government can allocate resources for the solutions.
 
It was emphasised in Delhi, and it was re-emphasised in Kolkata.... This is a citizen’s initiative. When a mother has a dead child, it is a 100% happening.  There are no averages or percentages relevant in her case.  Similarly, if there is one village where the level of literacy is very low, the panchayat is not worried about the level of literacy of the district being higher or lower than the national average.  

This is not a project of NGOS, nor only the Government.  This is the project which requires initiative of each adult not only in West Bengal, but the entire country. Every citizen who has time or resources, needs to reassess his lifestyle, and be motivated enough to be involved in this project. It is a fact that man cannot live without food; but, during this survey it has been found that children have hunger for learning to read, learning to subtract and divide, hunger for knowledge. These are our children; can we afford to be complacent about our own mistakes?  It is amazing that young men and women from semi-urban and rural areas have come forward as volunteers, with time and energy to help in this project.
 
ASER 2005 is just the beginning. ASER will be repeated every year until 2010, the deadline for universal elementary education through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan....    EACH CHILD IN SCHOOL, AND EACH CHILD LEARNING WELL could well be the motto for every citizen a nation which is just awakening to its potential.

The ASER 2005 West Bengal survey was financed by Calcutta Foundation.  Pratham, Calcutta Foundation and INSPIRATION will work together towards improving the overall level of elementary education in rural Bengal by establishing mobile libraries and carrying out other useful study programmes.


 THE COMPARATIVE FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY