After a prolonged decline due to learning losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, this year showed a modest recovery in foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) among school students, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024, released on January 28, 2025. In the last two years, between 2022 and 2024, there has been a 7-10% jump in reading and arithmetic. ASER 2022 showed that after nearly two years of school closures due to the pandemic, there had been a massive drop in the already low learning levels of students across the country. So, this jump in ASER 2024 reflects a recovery to pre-COVID levels.
What the survey says
ASER, a survey of 6.5 lakh children, found that 76% of Class 3 students, 55.2% of Class 5 students, and 32.5% of Class 8 students couldn’t read at a Class 2 level; over 66% of Class 3 and Class 5 students struggled with simple math. The majority of children in Classes 3 and 5 were unable to read a Class 2 level text in their local language or solve simple math problems.
In 2018, ASER reported that 20.9% of Class 3 students enrolled in government schools were able to read a text at a Class 2 level; this figure dropped to 16.3% in 2022 but recovered to 23.4% in 2024. This still meant that 76.6% of Class 3 students were unable to read the texts, which were provided in 19 languages.
However, two out of three Class 3 students were still unable to solve subtraction problems correctly. Among Class 5 students, the proportion of those who could solve division problems improved from 27.9% in 2018 to 30.7% in 2024, which still left almost 70% of them lagging behind. Among Class 8 students, the improvement in basic arithmetic rose marginally from 44.1% in 2018 to 45.8% in 2024.
“There has been improvement in learning levels as data indicates that schools are receiving directives, training, and materials or funds related to strengthening FLN for early grades in primary schools, with more than 75% of schools surveyed implementing a three-month school readiness programme for incoming Grade 1 children in government schools,” the report said.
A closer reading
While the 2024 report broadly indicates that rural schoolchildren have largely recovered from the learning loss experienced during the pandemic, the recovery appears uneven when the data was analysed in detail by The Hindu’s data team.
While children showed significant improvement in their arithmetic abilities, their progress in reading ability has been less pronounced. Second, government schoolchildren showed strong recovery in reading abilities, with the share of those who can read a paragraph in their regional language reaching pre-pandemic levels. While private schoolchildren made some progress from the pandemic-induced decline, the share who could read a paragraph in their regional language remained well below pre-pandemic standards.
The proportion of children who were able to perform basic arithmetic operations exceeded pre-pandemic levels among both government and private schools, according to the 2024 data. However, the recovery was stronger among government schoolchildren compared to their private counterparts.
States/Union Territories such as Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Tamil Nadu conformed to the national trend. In Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, the share of government schoolchildren who could read did not recover from the pandemic lows.
In Bihar, the reading ability of private schoolchildren did not recover. In Chhattisgarh, there was no recovery among government schoolchildren or among private ones.
Reasons behind recovery
Balaji Sampath, the founder of AhaGuru, in an article for The Hindu said, “Two factors led to this quick recovery. First, the state governments recognised and addressed learning losses due to COVID with focused efforts immediately after schools reopened. Tamil Nadu, for instance, implemented a statewide programme called Illam Thedi Kalvi.”
Mr. Sampath noted that, “There has been a slow policy movement towards Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) since pre-COVID years. At the national and State levels, there was a push to initiate programmes in FLN. In Tamil Nadu, an FLN initiative called Ennum Ezhuthum was launched.”
According to Mr. Sampath, the combination of FLN initiatives and COVID learning loss recovery initiatives meant that, for the first time in the country, there was such strong, consistent attention to basic skills over two years. This is the reason for the significant jump in learning levels seen in ASER 2024. This was evidence that a country-wide focus on basic skills does produce a significant measurable impact within a short period.
Mr. Sampath pointed out that the shift in government policy towards Foundational Literacy and Numeracy is quite recent. They refused to accept the need for a focus on basic skills until recently. The norm was setting higher and higher learning goals every few years. This pushed teachers to focus on completing the syllabus instead of ensuring that all children achieved basic skills.
Mr. Sampath said that while the jump in ASER 2024 is positive, it is important to recognise that the starting base was so low that, even today, after the jump, the percentage of children who can read or subtract is still quite low.
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Published - December 29, 2025 03:14 pm IST
