Islamabad [Pakistan], August 6 (ANI): More than 60 Pakistani officials from the education department including teachers, and clerks were booked for violence, assaults and obstructing other officials of the department from performing their duties, local media reported on Saturday.

Geneva [Switzerland], June 25 (ANI): Dua Kalhoro of World Sindhi Congress on Thursday (local time) highlighted the flawed education system of Pakistan at United Nations Human Rights Council, particularly about the basic education of Sindhi children.

Karachi [Pakistan], March 25 (ANI): Highlighting the flawed education system in Pakistan, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Pakistan for 2021-2022 on Thursday called for an education emergency in Sindh province.

Thiruvananthapuram Nov 18 PTI Kerala is much ahead of other states in providing online education to children during the COVID-19 pandemic as 91 per cent of those in rural areas were able to continue their studies with the help of technology Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday While 91 per cent of children in rural Kerala had access to online classes for the entire nation the figure stood at 242 per cent the CM said in a Facebook post by referring to Annual Status of Education Report ASER 2021 Vijayan said according to ASER 2021 Kerala has implemented the best online education in the country Kerala is far ahead of most other states in this regard he said and added that the state governments Vidya kiranam project was one of the initiatives which helped overcome the problem of digital divide The CM said the projects required to solve the digital divide completely are being vigorously implemented and soon 100 per cent of the children in the state would be able to access online education He said that closure of schools had affected studies and was a major crisis during the pandemic The state government however was determined to ensure education of children and it achieved that goal with the help of technologies Teachers parents and the general public also worked together energetically and tirelessly to achieve this goal and these efforts need to be continued to provide online education to 100 per cent of the children in the state Vijayan said PTI HMP ROH ROH

New Delhi Nov 17 PTI One in every three children in classes 1 and 2 has never attended in-person school before due to the COVID-19 pandemic according to a new reportThe Annual Status of Education Report ASER 2021 was released on WednesdayOne in every three children in Classes I and II have never attended in person classes before Among government school students of Classes I and II 368 per cent never attended pre-primary classes while the corresponding share is 336 in private schools the 16th ASER saidThe report noted that while smartphone ownership has dramatically risen over the last few years childrens access to these devices is often quite limited especially among the youngest learners who have the least access to technologyIt also noted that almost a third of all children in classes 1 and 2 did not have smartphones available at homeOnly 199 per cent children in grades I-II have access to the devices whenever they require The access rises with age with 354 per cent of students in Classes IX and above having constant access the report saidThe survey report pointed out that while 919 per cent of enrolled children have textbooks for their current grade only about a third 335 per cent of children in classes 1-2 of yet to be reopened schools reported to have received learning material from schools in the form of worksheets in print or virtual form online or recorded classes or other learning-related video clipsConducted in September-October 2021 18 months after the first lockdown the survey explores how children in the age group of 5-16 studied at home since the onset of the pandemic and the challenges that the schools and the households now face as schools reopen across statesASER 2021 was conducted in 25 states and three Union Territories It reached a total of 76706 households and 75234 children in the age group of 5-16 years as well as teachers or head teachers from 7299 government schools offering primary gradesThe survey report pointed out that almost all enrolled children have textbooks for their current grade 919 pcThis proportion has increased over the last year for children enrolled in both government and private schools There has been slight increase in additional materials received Overall among enrolled children whose schools had not reopened 398 pc children received some kind of learning materials or activities other than textbooks from their teachers during the reference weekThis is a slight increase over 2020 when 356 pc children received learning materials in the reference week More children in reopened schools received learning materials In the reference week 464 pc children in reopened schools received learning materials and activities as compared to 398 pc children whose schools had not reopened mainly because of the inclusion of homework in reopened schools it said PTI GJS IJT

New Delhi Nov 17 PTI There has been over a 10 per cent increase in the proportion of school going children taking paid tuition classes since the pre-pandemic time 2018 according to the Annual Status of Education Report ASER 2021 launched on WednesdayThe report also pointed out that the learning support at home for children has decreased over the last yearAt an all-India level in 2018 less than 30 per cent children took private tuition classes In 2021 this proportion has jumped to almost 40 per cent This proportion has increased across both sexes and all grades and school types it said adding except Kerala there has been marked increase across almost all states in percentage of children attending tuition classesThe 16th ASER report noted that the largest increase in the proportion of children taking tuition is seen among those from the most disadvantaged households Taking parental education as a proxy for economic status the proportion of children with parents in the low education category who are taking tuition increased by 126 percentage points as opposed to a 72 percentage point increase among children with parents in the high education category the report said Some differences are visible in the proportion of children taking tuition by school reopening status with tuition classes more common among children whose schools were still closed at the time of the survey The difference in tuition taking is larger in higher classes than lower ones it said The report is based on a survey that was conducted in 25 states and three Union Territories It covered a total of 76706 households and 75234 children in the age group of five to 16 years A total of 4872 schools which had reopened post their closure due to the pandemic were surveyed while in-charges of 2427 schools that had not opened at the time of the survey were contacted via phone ASER 2021 followed up on the questions asked in ASER 2020 about whether the child is provided learning support at home and who is providing it The proportion of enrolled children who received learning support at home has decreased from three quarters of all enrolled children in 2020 to two thirds in 2021 with the sharpest drops visible among children in higher grades it saidNoting that school reopening is driving decreasing support the report said that among both government and private school going children those whose schools have reopened get less support from home For example 756 pc private school going children whose schools have not reopened receive help at home as opposed to 704 pc whose schools have reopened The reduction in help is driven largely by less support from fathers PTI GJS RHL

New Delhi Nov 17 PTI There has been a clear shift from private schools to government schools in the last three years with Uttar Pradesh and Kerala reporting the maximum increase in government school enrolment according to Annual Status of Education Report ASER 2021 The report is based on a survey that was conducted in 25 states and three Union Territories It covered a total of 76706 households and 75234 children in the age group of five to 16 years At an all-India level there has been a clear shift from private to government schools For children in the age group of six to 14 enrolment in private schools has decreased from 325 per cent in 2018 to 244 per cent in 2021 the 16th ASER report released on Wednesday stated This shift is seen in all grades and among both boys and girls However boys are still more likely to be enrolled in private schools than girls it added In government schools the average enrolment in 2018 was 643 per cent which increased to 658 per cent last year and 703 per cent this year From 2006 to 2014 there was a steady increase in private schooling After plateauing around 30 per cent for a few years there has been a significant decline in the pandemic years Even before COVID-19 the proportion of girls enrolled in government schools was higher than that of boys for each grade and age This continues to be the trend over time it noted However the report said Time will reveal if these patterns constitute a transitory phase as schools reopen across states or whether they become a permanent feature of schooling in rural India The report pointed out that the maximum increase in government schools has been registered in Uttar Pradesh 132 per cent followed by Kerala 119 per cent Rajasthan 94 per cent Maharashtra 92 per cent Karnataka 83 per cent Tamil Nadu 96 per cent Andhra Pradesh 84 per cent Telangana 37 per cent Bihar 28 per cent West Bengal 39 per cent and Jharkhand 25 per cent are among the states that have reported an increase in government school enrolments A total of 4872 schools which had reopened post their closure due to the pandemic were surveyed physically while in-charges of 2427 schools that had not opened at the time of the survey were contacted via phone The report pointed out that there was no change in the proportion of children aged six to 14 who were not enrolled in school According to the report the proportion of children not currently enrolled in school increased from 14 per cent to 46 per cent in 2020 This proportion remained unchanged between 2020 and 2021 Among children in the age group of 15-16 an increase in government school enrolment from 574 per cent in 2018 to 674 per cent in 2021 has been driven by a marked decline in the proportion of out of school children from 121 per cent in 2018 to 66 per cent in 2021 as well as by a decrease in private school enrolment it added There is a fair amount of variation in enrolment at the state level The national increase in government school enrolment is driven by large northern states such as Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan Punjab and Haryana and southern states like Maharashtra Tamil Nadu Kerala and Andhra Pradesh In contrast in many north-eastern states government school enrolment has fallen during this period and the proportion of children not enrolled in school has increased the report said PTI GJS CJ SNE