ASER 2018 says, 61% of class VIII students can't do basic math

BENGALURU: As per the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2018, it has been found that a shocking 61% of class VIII students belonging to the government and private schools can’t do simple mathematical division.

The percentage is higher for the students of class V, as only 20.5% of students studying in class 5 know how to do division. The percentage of Class 8 students who can divide has fallen from 42.2% in 2016. “We found fundamental foundation skills lacking in these levels during our survey in Karnataka. There needs to be an increased focus on that,” said Nataraja J, ASER Karnataka coordinator.

The ASER report has highlighted that only 26.6% of students in class 8 can subtract, and 32% can recognize numbers between 10 and 99. At class V level, only 34.1% can subtract and 38% recognize numbers between 10 and 99. “Learning levels in mathematics are low because teachers create fear of mathematics among students. The children need to be taught arithmetic by connecting it to their everyday life,” said Shivakumar M, a National Awardee 2018 and Mathematics teacher from Government High School in Cheemangala village, Sidlaghatta taluk, Chikkaballapura district.

A total of 17,999 households and 29,312 children belonging to the age group of 3 to 16 were targeted across 30 districts of Karnataka for the survey.

The ASER reading test assesses whether a child can read letters, words, a simple paragraph at Standard I level with difficulty, or a story at Standard II level with difficulty. The test was given to every child belonging to the age group of 5 to 16 and the child is marked at the highest level that she or he is capable of reaching.