Good Going Girls

MYSORE: Over the years, the drop-out rate of schoolgirls in 11-14 age group has declined in Karnataka, while it has increased at the national level.

According to Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), a survey conducted by NGO Pratham in rural areas, the rate was 8% in 2006, while it came down to 3.8% in 2012. In Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the proportion of out-of-school girls has increased from 8.9% and 9.7% to over 11%.

N R Vijay, deputy director of women and child welfare department, said: "Even illiterate parents want their child to get education. With Sarva Shiksa Abhiyan, distribution of bicycles and mid-day meal, there has been a rise in the number of admissions."

Notably, the enrolment of children in 6-14 age group has improved from 97.2% in 2011 to 98.1% in 2012. At the national level, the rate is over 96%. Enrolment in private schools is also steadily rising in the country. Since 2009, the figure in rural areas has risen to 10%. In Karnataka, it has increased from 20% in 2011 to 21.91% in 2012.

Vijay pointed out that there is an increase in the enrollment of children in private schools, because parents prefer private schools. "They have a wrong notion that child gets better education only in private schools," he added.

But according to the findings of ASER, government school children in class V who can read class II textbooks has increased to 47.2 pc while it has decreased to 54.6 pc in private schools.

Barring Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, every other major state has shown signs of substantial drop in arithmetic learning skills. In Karnataka, children in Class V who can solve division problems has increased from 19.6% (2011) to 19.9% (2012).

In Karnataka, 49% of children in Class VIII can read simple sentences in English. In India, only 47% can read English sentences, and 60% of them could translate it to their mother tongue.

The survey also reveals that the ability to solve arithmetic problems has increased among students who attended private tuitions than those who did not. The number of children attending private tuitions has increased to 29% in Karnataka.

Moreover, the facilities at schools have improved over time. The pupil-teacher ratio in the state is 83.2% as per RTE norms. The number of useable toilets for girl students in school has increased to 54% in 2012. In the country, 80% of the schools visited have separate provision for girls' toilet.

Pratham (Mysore) CEO A Sheshadri said that the report, a citizens' audit, will be submitted to Planning Commission for further assessment and to bring improvements.