Charting the course: Lofty education goals need extra work as technology has altered the way we consume books

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 surveyed 649,491 children aged five-16 across 605 rural Indian districts, covering 17,997 villages using the 2011 census framework to randomly select households. Facilitated by Pratham and local organisations, the study assessed Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) skills, revealing a full recovery from post-pandemic learning losses.

In Tagore’s tales of education, a child bride of only nine years, Uma learns to write against the wishes of her family, and once her in-laws find out, they destroy her books. The yearning of children persists but the means of a broken system minus most of the social evils, at least on paper, bog down the efforts. The reflection is evident in the latest findings of ASER 2024, there are abundance of resources and ways to educate, many who seek education but the conversion on-ground remains abysmal.  The recent report highlighted an uptick in enrollment and pre-Covid recovery but some findings show that the education system has a long way to go. Two sections of importance are the tests which measure reading and arithmetic levels show the dire state of the literacy levels, or the lack thereof in the country.

When it comes to basic reading, a shocking 70% of first standard students cannot read words, can only recognise letters; out of this 31.9% cannot even read a letter. There’s more: 47.8% cannot read words in second standard, 53% of the students in third standard could not read texts of classes below them, 60% of students in fourth standard could not read second standard-level text, only 71% of eigth standard students can read second standard-level text, and 15.2% can read first standard-level text but not  second standard-level text. In 2018, the figure of fifth standard children who can read a second standard-level text was at 50.5%, this fell to 42.8% in 2022, and recovered to only 48.8% in 2024.

When it comes to arithmetics, the proportion of children in the third standard who are able to do at least subtraction is at 22.3%, while only 11.4% can do basic division. Similarly, in fifth standard the proportion of children able to do at least division stands at 30.7%. In seventh standard, there are still 4.9% of students who cannot recognise numbers beyond nine and shockingly, in second standard, this number stands at 33.5% .

However, it is not all stark, government and private school enrolment has returned to 2018 levels, confirming that the covid-era surge in government school admissions was driven by necessity rather than choice. States like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu achieved over 10% gains in foundational skills. The report credits directives, teacher training, and school readiness programmes for 75% of government schools implementing FLN-focussed initiatives.

Digital literacy and access
ASER 2024 highlights the rapid rise of digital literacy among rural adolescents, marking a significant shift in how young learners access information and engage with technology. Smartphone penetration in rural households has grown from 36% in 2018 to 84% in 2024. In Bihar, 82.1% of adolescents in this age-group own a smartphone, close to the national average of 89.1%.

Access vs Education
Despite these advancements, disparities remain in how digital literacy translates into educational benefits. While 82.2% of adolescents know how to use smartphones, only 57% use them for education, as compared to 76% for social media.

When it comes to basic tasks, 79.3% can browse for information, 87% locate specific videos, and 92.1% share content via WhatsApp/Telegram. Safety awareness lags, with 62% knowing how to block profiles and 55.2% understanding privacy settings.

Key for the printing industry
While smartphone access is nearly universal, only half of them use it for learning. The pandemic accelerated digital adoption, with smartphones becoming a primary medium for accessing texts, worksheets, and virtual training. These digital habits have persisted—57% of teens continue using devices for education, though AI-driven tools are now gaining traction. The report highlights sustained demand for bite-sized, multilingual digital content (videos, translated texts), signalling opportunities for publishers to innovate in hybrid learning formats.