Education is the Harry Potter of the social sector. Everybody loves it. Everybody puts money into it. Yet, why aren't we seeing sweeping outcomes?

As per the Annual Status of Education Report or ASER 2022, in India the enrolment rate for primary schools stands at the highest it has ever been in Indian education history at 98.4%. However, only 42.8% of grade five students are able to read at grade level text. Assessment and measuring foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) outcomes has been thrust to the forefront of understanding what the problems in education are today, so that they can be solved more effectively.

To discuss this and more on Decoding Impact, host Rathish Balakrishnan cuaght up with the CEO of Pratham Education Foundation, Dr. Rukmini Banerji.

Dr. Banerji is an accomplished educationist, who advocates for data-driven education reforms and she has spearheaded the development of notable large-scale assessments, including the widely recognised ASER.

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Host: Rathish Balakrishnan | ⁠Linkedin | Twitter
Guest: Dr. Rukmini Banerji | Linkedin
Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu

Content Sections

0:00 - Decoding Impact Introduction
0:51 - Introduction to topic and guest
02:57 - The origin story of ASER
15:16 - How ASER was adopted nationally and learnings
23:48 - What has made ASER successful?
31:28 - ASER is a true public good
32:16 - ASER as a social movement
37:17 - Education trends post COVID
43:56 - The Big Jump for FLN
50:10 - Its not about reading, its about self-confidence
50:56 - Government role, natural disasters, and successful state interventions
57:20 - Summary and thanks

Dana Claxton

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