Enrolment in government schools, which surged during the Covid-19 pandemic, has declined to pre-pandemic levels, according to the 2024 Annual Status of Education Report released on Tuesday.

The annual nationwide rural household survey, facilitated by non-governmental organisation Pratham Education Foundation, covered 6.4 lakh children in nearly 18,000 villages.

The proportion of children aged 6 to 14 enrolled in government schools has fallen back to 2018 levels. The figure had risen from 65.6% in 2018 to 72.9% in 2022 but dropped to 66.8% in 2024, according to the report.

“This almost complete reversal back to 2018 levels is seen across grades as well as gender, and is not particularly surprising given that the economy has recovered in other sectors as well,” the report said.

However, the report does provide data to show if enrolment in private schools correspondingly increased.

The survey also found that learning levels in primary classes had not only recovered from pandemic-induced losses but had surpassed past levels in some cases.

Reading skills

The survey also found that reading skills among Class 3 students in government and private schools had improved.

The proportion of Class 3 students able to read Class 2-level text fluently had risen from 23.6% in 2014 to 27.3% in 2018 before dropping to 20.5% in 2022. It recovered to 27.1% in 2024.

Similarly, the proportion of Class 5 students able to read Class 2-level text rose from 48% in 2014 to 50.5% in 2018 before falling to 42.8% in 2022. It improved to 48.8% in 2024.

All states, including “low-performing” ones such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, showed improvements compared to 2022.

All states, including “low-performing” ones such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, showed improvements compared to 2022.

Basic arithmetic skills

The proportion of Class 3 students in government and private schools able to solve a numerical subtraction problem was 28.2% in 2018 and 25.9% in 2022. It rose to 33.7% in 2024.

Among government school students, the figure went from 20.9% in 2018 to 20.2% in 2022, increasing to 27.6% in 2024.

In Class 5, the proportion of students able to perform numerical division improved from 25.6% in 2022 to 30.7% in 2024.

Punjab and Uttarakhand were among states that saw an improvement of more than 10 percentage points.

Among Class 8 students, 45.8% were able to perform numerical division, nearly the same as the 44.7% recorded in 2022.

Digital literacy

More than 82% of surveyed children aged 14 to 16 knew how to use a smartphone.

Of them, 57% had used smartphones for educational activities in the week before the survey, while 76% had used them for social media.

The use of smartphones for education was similar among boys and girls, but girls (73.4%) were less likely than boys (78.8%) to use them for social media.

Kerala stood out, with over 80% of surveyed children using smartphones for educational activities and more than 90% for social media.