25% teens aged between 14-18 can't read grade 2 text fluently: ASER report

The ASER 2023 survey also highlighted that only 28.1 per cent female youth are likely to pursue science, technology, and mathematics courses as against 36.3 per cent of male counterparts

The ASER 2023 'Beyond Basics' survey, released on Wednesday, revealed that while 86.8 per cent of 14-18-year-olds are enrolled in an educational institution, 25 per cent of this age group cannot read a second-grade level text fluently in their regional language.

While testing their basic maths skills, the report also found that "nearly 85 per cent of surveyed youth can measure length using a scale when the starting point is 0 cm. This proportion drops sharply to 39 per cent when the starting point is moved. Overall, close to 50 per cent of youth can do other common calculations such as calculating time, adding weights and applying the unitary method."

"More than half struggle with division (3-digit by 1-digit) problems. Only 43.3 per cent of 14-18-year-olds are able to do such problems correctly. This skill is usually expected in third and fourth grade," the report said.

Women less likely to pursue STEM courses

The survey, conducted in 28 districts across 26 states, also highlighted that only 28.1 per cent of women are likely to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses as against 36.3 per cent of men in the same age bracket.

It further highlighted that a little over half can read sentences in English at 57.3 per cent. Of those who can read sentences in English, almost three-quarters can tell their meanings (73.5 per cent). 

While women outperformed men across enrollment categories in reading second grade level text in their regional language (at 76 per cent), men did better than their female counterparts in arithmetic and English reading, the survey found.

Arts, Humanities most sought after course

It also noted that in 11th grade or higher, more than half are enrolled in the Arts or Humanities stream at 55.7 per cent, followed by STEM at 31.7 per cent and Commerce at 9.4 per cent.

ASER is a nationwide citizen-led household survey that provides a snapshot of the status of children's schooling and learning in rural India. The survey was conducted by reaching a total of 34,745 youth in one rural district in each major state, except for Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, where two districts were surveyed.