Government schools get ‘happy’ feedback as more and more children get enrolled

NEW DELHI:  If you believe only private schools can draw kids, think again. More and more children across the country are beginning to join government-run schools from class III to 10th, says a government survey.

As per the latest National Achievement Survey (NAS), released by the department of school education and literacy under the Ministry of Education, most children — 94% of them — feel safe in government schools.

A flipside exists, though: only 18% mothers of most such children are “unable to read and write.” 

The NAS report released on Thursday covered over 34 lakh children studying in classes from III to X in 720 districts from rural and urban areas.

However, 76% of these children have access to digital devices for learning purposes at their homes. In different states, 48% of the total 34,01,158 children walk to their schools from their homes. 

A senior official of the Ministry of Education said 89% of these children said they share the lessons with their family members. Only 51% of those children have access to magazines and other reading materials at their homes. 

The last NAS survey was conducted in 2017. For the NAS 2021 report, the questionnaires involving students, teachers and schools were prepared in 22 languages.