ASER 2024: In rural Punjab, govt pre-primary schools see surge in enrolment

The report also highlights a significant increase in the enrolment of children aged 4 to 8 in government pre-primary schools, which has doubled over the past two years.

Government pre-primary schools have seen an almost three-fold rise in enrolment among three-year-old students, according to the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 for rural Punjab, released by the Pratham Foundation on Tuesday. The report also highlights a significant increase in the enrolment of children aged 4 to 8 in government pre-primary schools, which has doubled over the past two years.

In Punjab, the survey was carried out in 600 villages across 20 districts covering 20,226 children. (HT File)

This year’s ASER survey, conducted after a gap of two years, covered 17,997 villages across 605 districts, assessing the education status of 6.49 lakh children aged 3 to 16 years. In Punjab, the survey was carried out in 600 villages across 20 districts, covering a total of 20,226 children.

The findings indicate a sharp rise in government school admissions, with 36% of three-year-olds now enrolled in anganwadis, compared to 32% in 2022. Additionally, enrolment in government pre-primary classes has surged from 6.4% in 2022 to 18% in 2024 for three-year-olds. Even government primary schools recorded a slight increase in enrolment for three-year-olds, rising from 0.8% in 2022 to 2% in 2024. For four-year-olds, the enrolment in government pre-primary classes has more than doubled, climbing from 13.9% in 2022 to 29.2% in 2024.

A promising trend observed in the report is the substantial decline in the number of children who are not enrolled in any educational institution. In 2022, 21.7% of three-year-olds were not attending any pre-school or school, whereas in 2024, this figure dropped to 10.1%. Similarly, for four-year-olds, non-enrolment has fallen from 5.1% in 2022 to just 1.3% in 2024.

While government pre-schools have witnessed a surge, private pre-schools have faced a nearly 10% decline in enrolments in lower kindergarten (LKG) and upper kindergarten (UKG) over the past two years. In 2022, 39% of three-year-olds were enrolled in private pre-schools, a number that has now dropped to 31.7%. A similar decline is observed in four-year-olds, where enrolment has reduced from 62% in 2022 to 50.9% in 2024. For five-year-olds, the decrease is even more pronounced, falling from 61.3% in 2022 to 49.3% in 2024. This shift suggests a growing preference among parents for government-run early education programmes over private institutions.

Punjab education minister Harjot Singh Bains credited this remarkable increase in government school enrolments to the introduction of nursery classes for the first time in the state during the 2024-25 academic session, coupled with an aggressive enrolment drive.

“Over 8,000 primary schools have newly built boundary walls, and 10,000 new classrooms have been constructed. Additionally, the recruitment of skilled teachers and extensive enrolment campaigns have played a crucial role in this surge,” said Bains.