Enrolment in govt schools, tuitions up in pandemic year: Pratham study

A smartphone in the family doesn't necessarily mean a child has access to the device, says the survey.

Enrollment in government schools increased and more children paid for private tuitions in 2021 when India was batting the coronavirus pandemic and had shut down for almost three months, said a non-profit’s research on Wednesday. 

“There was significant increase in the proportion of children in government schools in many states. Time will tell if this is a temporary feature or more permanent feauture,” said the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) by the Pratham.

Nearly 30 per cent children took tuitions in 2018: nationally, the number reached 40 per cent last year, said the telephonic survey conducted in September-October 2021. In West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, enrollment for tuitions was 60 per cent.

A smartphone in the family doesn’t necessarily mean a child has access to the device, said the survey, asking for education policy to note this in planning remote learning.