Indicating that about 58 per cent of India’s children are not getting even the basic skill in mathematics, a survey on the status of education in villages said despite better enrolment, learning abilities had not improved in basic subjects.

According to the Annual Status of Education Report 2007 (Rural) only 42 per cent students in standard V could divide a three-digit number by a one digit number and this was almost exactly the same percentage of children in Standard III who could subtract.

Though the percentage of out-of-school children in the 6-14 age group had dropped from 6.6 per cent in 2006 to 4.2 per cent, the report also estimated that the children’s attendance in schools had not improved over the last two years with only about 74 per cent of the children on the school roster attending classes.
“In 2007, the proportion of children who cannot even read alphabets in standard 1-2 has dropped by 5 percentage points (from 26.9 per cent in 2006 to 21.8 per cent in 2007).

But it is still a matter of concern that over 40 per cent children in standard II cannot even read simple words and about the same proportion of children in the same class cannot recognise numbers beyond 10,” the survey said. However the report, which was released here on Wednesday by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, had appreciated the fact that the mid-day meal scheme was working “quite well” and nine out of ten schools in rural areas were providing such meals to children. More than 92 per cent of schools in the country provide mid-day meals to children now as compared to 71 per cent two years ago, Mr Ahluwalia said while releasing the report.

The coverage of mid-day meal scheme, however, was very poor in rural areas of Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh where less than 65 per cent schools provided meals to children.