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Bridging the Gap Between Schooling and Learning in India: A Reflection on ASER 2023
Gouda Pranav
University of Hyderabad
EN161- English Language
Ms. Arundhathi Padmanabhan
26 April 2025
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Abstract
Education is a right in India, and most children attend school every year. But in recent years, reports
such as the ASER 2023 report indicate that attending school does not necessarily mean a child is
learning. This essay examines the startling fact that many young Indians, after many years of school,
are illiterate, unable to perform simple arithmetic, or lack basic life skills. By examining some of the
findings of the ASER 2023 report among rural youth aged between 14 and 18, we examine how social
issues, bad teaching, rote learning, and absence of role models hinder learning. We also discuss how
digital skills enable individuals to learn, dream, and be on their own feet, even when formal school
fails. This essay challenges us to consider carefully how Indian education must extend far beyond
schools and exams. It must listen to children, respect them, and assist them in passing, yes, but in
dreaming, envisioning, and flourishing. Education must leave learners improved, not diminished.
Enrollment in school and actual learning is not a matter of policy; it is one of justice, respect, and
hope for tens of millions of Indian children.
Keywords: schooling, real learning, ASER 2023, Indian students, rural youth, everyday skills,
digital learning, poor teaching, exam pressure, role models, dreams and education, learning gap
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When Education Doesn’t Mean Learning
In a village in Uttar Pradesh, a 10th class student was questioned about what she had learned in
school. She didn't talk about her tests or marks. She said learning to speak, learning to behave, and
learning to be a good human in the world. That simple answer gives rise to a deep thought. Learning
in India is not what we imagine it to be. The ASER 2023 survey reports that over 87% of children in
the 14-18 years age group in rural India are in school, but only 43% can do a simple division problem.
How is that possible? It's not about numbers , It is about a system that is less concerned with
completing syllabus than with assisting students to learn. Students learn chapters for the purpose of
writing exams and soon, forgetting. Methods of teaching are based primarily on rote memorization.
Students pack classrooms in typical large numbers, and instructors can not assist every individual
present . At the age of eight or ten years after spending so many years in school, children cannot read
simple texts or even solve simple arithmetic problems. Also, due to the social and economic status,
most young students, particularly girls, cook, clean, or take care of their brothers and sisters at home.
Boys work in shops or farms. ASER's reports indicate that 77% of the students work in the house, and
34% reported that they do paid work. The system penalizes them for it; it does not reward students
who study while working in the fields or study late nights under one bulb's light, and then there is the
silence of their dreams. One out of every five teenagers reported that they had no idea what they
wanted to be. Most do not know the profession they dream of. Girls talk of dreams as a gateway to
marriage, and boys are told to earn early. In these silent places between duty and dreams, learning
falls off. School is no longer fun; it is drudgery. To make school and learning connect, we must alter
the system itself, starting by listening more to teenagers like meera.
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Learning Outside School
But, is there nothing we can do about it? Not really. There is a silver lining to this as well. Although
education is not the solution, rural Indian youth are learning other ways of learning, primarily on
smartphones. ASER 2023 reports that 90% of Indian rural youth own smartphones, and over two
thirds use them regularly to study. They learn from YouTube videos to learn something they didn't
learn in school, group chats to exchange notes, or even exploring their interests. As schools are likely
to be monotonous and authoritarian, smartphones provide them with a means to connect with the rest
of the world. Consider Shristhi Sandhil from Jharkhand. She is 18 and learns something new on
YouTube without attending a class or spending a single rupee. She says, "With a phone in our hands,
we can learn anything." Her words speak a bigger story - that education is not all about learning at
school. They are creative, curious, and ambitious, if given the opportunity. Barely more than 35% of
the young people surveyed use their phones to perform creative work. This is learning. Not schoolish,
but personal. Not hypothetical, but fun. But this promise of the digital is not an illusion. Boys had
smartphones more than twice as often as girls. Where they did have them, they kept up. So the issue is
not capability. The real issue we face is lack of access. The system must make digital tools available
to all in an equal way. Self directed and self paced learning and creativity shouldn't be an add on, but
in the official curriculum, where projects, games, and real life problem solving can make learning
more engaging. We must see how much social context shapes the life of youth. Professional
aspirations are often set by social expectations. Most girls must ask permission to study after 12th
standard. Most boys feel they must work in the near future to support their families. If we want them
to dream bigger, we must provide them with information and inspiration. Role models, mentors, and
career guidance, particularly in their own neighborhoods can turn these aspirations into concrete
plans. The harsh reality is - Indian youth aren't failing. The system is failing them. Closing the gap
between schooling and learning will require new policies and new values like empathy, imagination,
and respect for students' creativity.
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References
Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. (2021, December 16). State of foundational
literacy and numeracy in India. Institute for Competitiveness India. [https://www.competitiveness.in]
ASER Centre. (2024). Annual status of education report (rural) 2023. ASER Centre.
[https://www.asercentre.org]