The ASER is a nationwide rural household-based survey of children's schooling and learning status.
- It tests the schooling status for children in the age group of 3-16, and the ability to read simple text & do basic arithmetic in the age group of 5-16.
- The ASER survey was conducted annually from 2005 till 2014. Thereafter, an alternate-year cycle was introduced.
Key Findings
- Reversing the Learning Gap: Improvements in basic reading and arithmetic among students of classes 3 and 5 in rural areas reverting back from the post-pandemic damage.
- Improvement in both reading & arithmetic levels for all elementary grades (Std I-VIII) since 2022 with arithmetic levels being highest over the decade.
- Digital Literacy: In 2024, for the first time, it includes a component of ‘Digital Literacy’ among the age group 14-16.
- Access to smartphones is close to universal: Almost 90% of both girls and boys report having a smartphone at home.
- Gender Gap in Smartphone Ownership: 36.2% of boys own a smartphone compared to just 26.9% of girls.
- Smartphone Usage More for Social Media than Education: Only 57% of teenagers use smart devices for educational purposes, while approximately 76% use them for social media.
- School Infrastructure: All Right to Education indicators in ASER show slight improvements, including functional girls' toilets, drinking water facilities etc.
