School observations

As part of the ASER survey, one government school with primary sections is visited in each sampled village. Preference is given to a government upper primary school (Std I-VII/VIII) if one exists in the village.

Small schools

• Nationally, in 2018, 4 out of 10 government primary schools visited had less than 60 students enrolled. This number has increased every year over the last decade. It was 26.1% in 2009, 30% in 2011, 33.1% in 2013, 39.8% in 2016, and stands at 43.3% in 2018.
• This decade-long pattern of year-on-year increase in the proportion of small schools is seen in Himachal Pradesh (from 58.1% in 2009 to 84% in 2018), Chhattisgarh (from 19.3% in 2009 to 40.7% in 2018), and Madhya Pradesh (from 18.1% in 2009 to 49.6% in 2018).

Teacher and student attendance

• At the all India level, no major change is seen in students' and teachers' attendance. Average teacher attendance has hovered at around 85% and average student attendance at around 72% for the past several years in both primary and upper primary schools.
• However, states exhibit very different patterns of attendance. States with student attendance of 90% or more in primary schools in 2018 were Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Those with teacher attendance of 90% or more in 2018 were Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
• In primary schools, student attendance improved by 3 percentage points or more over 2016 levels in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.