Learning skills dropped post-Covid among school kids: ASER ’24 data

Nagpur: A national report on education released on Tuesday reveals data which points to how Covid-19 lockdown, and the eventual physical closure of schools, negatively impacted learning among kids. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024, by NGO Pratham, has data which compared learning results from 2018, 2022, 2024, which reflected a sharp drop in learning abilities across the country in 2022. Amravati division was the worst-hit in Maharashtra, as per the report, with only 27.5% of Std III-V students being able to read text from Std II level in 2022. This was a sharp drop compared to 2018, when 44.1% of students could do so. When it came to the ability of same age group students doing subtraction exercises, only 27.1% could do so in 2022, as compared to 40% in 2018. In this category, Amravati division was placed second-last in Maharashtra, just a notch above Nashik division.In 2024, with schools having resumed full time everywhere, learning abilities have been on the upswing. Amravati division statistics for reading (using above mentioned criteria) has improved to 37.9%, while for subtraction it is 34.4%.At Maharashtra level, in 2018 around 55.5% of students (Std III-V) were able to read text of Std II level. This figure went down to 41.4% in 2022, and has climbed back to 50.3% in 2024. The negative impact of schools remaining closed for an extended period in 2020 and 2021, is visible in the data from 2022. Though online schooling had taken the world of education by storm, it's clear that it failed to have the desired impact. Academics say this data proves what they have been saying all along, that in-person/physical school learning is the only way to go. Even talks of AI taking over teachers' jobs, or at least emerging as an alternative now seems to be under question.Anmol Mukherjee, principal of Jain International School said, "Education cannot happen without a human touch. Teachers can understand what students require and tweak teaching methodology accordingly. Students also thrive in such an environment where they interact with teachers and get real time feedback." She added that AI and other learning technologies can never replace human teachers. Recently even the AI unit head of Meta had said that in five years, AI will stagnate. Mukherjee said, "AI can never be anything more than an assistant to the teacher. It will help to analyse data and other things but can never replace humans." Nidhi Yadav, principal of DPS Mihan, said students require a proper ecosystem to learn and that can be achieved only in a physical classroom setting. Yadav said, "A student learns with peers in a classroom setting, so there is a common goal and focus. It's a great stimulus for learning. Then the interaction with teachers, be it on a daily basis, or through weekly assignments and projects, furthers this learning curve." She added that the learning environment of a physical classroom can never neither be replaced nor replicated online. Covid lockdown hit learning abilities In Maharashtra's Amravati division, only 27.5% of Std III-V students could read Std II-level text in 2022, down from 44.1% in 2018Subtraction proficiency in Amravati dropped from 40% in 2018 to 27.1% in 2022, highlighting the impact of school closuresAt the state level, Std III-V students able to read Std II-level text fell from 55.5% in 2018 to 41.4% in 2022Learning abilities have shown recovery in 2024, with reading proficiency in Maharashtra climbing back to 50.3% and subtraction improving to 34.4%Educators emphasize that in-person learning offers irreplaceable benefits, with physical interaction and real-time feedback fostering better outcomesOnline schooling and AI technologies failed to replicate the effectiveness of traditional classrooms during extended school closures