Himachal Pradesh among top 3 states in Annual Status of Education Report

Himachal Pradesh is among the top states that have recorded significant gains, with an overall increase of more than 10 per cent points in various spheres in schools between 2022 to 2024.

The 2024 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), in which 268 schools were inspected, indicated very encouraging results for Himachal Pradesh, especially in case of government schools in several areas.

In terms of Class-8 reading levels, Himachal Pradesh has been placed at the third position with 84.2 per cent. Mizoram topped the list at 90.1 per cent, followed by Kerala at 84.5 per cent.

Good news for the hill state, which is grappling with issues like geographical constraints and huge teacher vacancies in remote areas, is the quantum jump in reading proficiency of students in government schools at Class-3.

Himachal Pradesh ranked first with 90.4 per cent schools having drinking water supply, up from 88.9 per cent in 2022.

In terms of digital literacy, where students have access to smartphones, Himachal Pradesh has been placed third with 94.3 per cent. Kerala is at number one, followed by Mizoram.

Even in terms of the availability of library books, Himachal Pradesh has been ranked third (96.3 per cent) after Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

However, the overall percentage of children in the age group of six to 14 years enrolled in government schools has declined marginally to 58.6 per cent from 58.9 percent in 2022.

The percentage of children in the age group of 15-16 years, who are not going to school, has also risen to 3 per cent from 2.2 per cent in 2022, which is an area of concern.

In terms of pupil-teacher ratio in schools, Himachal Pradesh at 58.1 per cent, does not fare well compared to many other states. The only relief is that this ratio has improved from 47.5 in 2022.

Government school students have performed exceedingly well even in terms of arithmetic levels, with a jump of 15.4 per cent increase from 31.3 to 46.7 over the last two years.

In comparison, there has been an improvement of 9.2 per cent in case of arithmetic levels in private schools since 2022. The overall improvement in this sphere in schools across the state is 13.8 per cent.

In terms of schools serving mid-day meals, there has been an improvement from 91.1 to 95.5 per cent over the last two years. In terms of schools having drinking water facilities, there is also an overall improvement from 88.9 to 90.4 per cent. Also, 99 per cent of schools have toilet facility, though only 90 per cent are usable.