Double The Reading, Triple The Sums: UP's ASER Scores Show Big Turnaround In Learning Outcomes

The often-overlooked ASER Report is finally making headlines, this time for spotlighting UP's surprisingly impressive strides in K-12 education—across every metric.

School enrolment, reading skills, arithmetic proficiency, daily attendance—UP has smashed expectations across the board, defying its historically dismal—and often mocked—education metrics that have long dragged the state’s growth story into the ground.

The achievement shines even brighter against the backdrop of underperformance by southern states, traditionally seen as the stronghold of India’s high literacy culture.

Tamil Nadu, in particular, has taken a significant hit, trailing behind Uttar Pradesh in several key areas—a twist no one saw coming.

This article breaks down the numbers, using 2018 as a baseline to see if the BJP’s much-touted "double-engine" model has actually delivered results in education governance.

The UP section of ASER report starts with the school enrolment data which measures the percentage of children enrolled in different types of schools, namely government and private.

The Surge In Government Schools: Reality or Economic Fallout?

The first standout figure in the ASER report is school enrolment.

UP has seen a significant shift toward government schools, with enrolment in the 6-14 age group rising from 44.3% to 49.1% in just six years—a near five-percentage-point jump.

This hints towards a secular trend of citizens preferring government schools over private institutions, generally owing to the improved educational facilities in the government schools and the resulting trust of the parents.

But here comes the catch. While such a spike might typically signal improved government school services, a closer look at the timeline suggests otherwise.

The COVID-19 period devastated the Indian economy, wiping out 12.2 crore jobs in the rest lockdown alone—75% of which were wage laborers and small traders.

Given this, the spike in government school enrolment likely had less to do with better education facilities and more to do with shrinking household incomes, forcing parents to opt for free government schooling out of necessity, not choice.

The point becomes even clearer with the sharp drop in government school enrolment immediately in the next survey and the corresponding rise in private school numbers again.

If the shift to government schools had been a deliberate choice, we wouldn’t see a staggering ten percentage point reversal. The more plausible explanation? Families who regained financial stability moved their kids back to private schools, while those still struggling stayed put.

Another possible factor is the inherent stickiness of school admissions—parents avoid frequent switches to maintain stability for their children which constantly points the interpretation towards the conclusion that the rise in government enrolment might not be particularly due to the improved facilities but situational compulsion.

The Real Victory: Learning Outcomes

Beyond enrolment numbers, the real game-changer is the surge in reading and arithmetic proficiency.

• Reading skills: The percentage of students who can read a Std III-level text jumped from 6% in 2014 to 27.9% in 2024, with the most dramatic rise post-2018—from 12.3% under Yogi’s tenure, effectively doubling the figure.

• Class V students reading Std II-level text: From 26.8% in 2014 to 50.5% in 2024, with a 40% increase since 2018.

Compare this with Karnataka where the trend has been declining across cohorts (Std III, V, VIII) with only 15.4% Std III students in government schools able to read the benchmark text or even lower 14.7% in Andhra Pradesh.

UP’s transformation is nothing short of breathtaking.

Arithmetic skills tell a similar story.

• Std III students mastering subtraction: Up from 6.6% in 2014 to 31.6% in 2024—tripling since 2018.

• Std V students mastering division: Up from 17% in 2018 to 31.8% in 2024—an 87% leap.

This underscores the BJP-led UP government’s claimed turnaround in education.

The achievement gap widens further when compared to the dismal performance of southern states this time.

Traditionally seen as high-literacy strongholds, they’ve consistently underperformed over the past decade, with Tamil Nadu and Kerala faring particularly poorly.

Uttar Pradesh, starting at just 6.6% of Std III students able to do at least subtraction properly in 2014, now stands at 31.6%. In contrast, Kerala has regressed, with only 26.9% of its Std III cohort meeting the benchmark down from 36% in 2014.

Kerala has seen a decline even with Std VIII students in government schools who can do division dropping from 53% to 45.2%, a 7.8pp fall.

Meanwhile, UP improved the same metric for its Std VIII cohort, rising from 30.5% in 2014 to 45.6%—proving it has outperformed several southern states in educational progress.

Infrastructure: The Silent Catalyst

The most understated highlight is the dramatic improvement in UP’s school facilities—a critical factor in boosting attendance and creating a conducive learning environment.

UP has excelled here, surpassing expectations.

Separate usable toilets for girls: Up by 31% since 2018, now covering 88.3% of schools—surpassing Tamil Nadu, which has dropped to 77.5%—outpacing high-HDI states like Tamil Nadu, which has dropped to 77.5%.

Electricity access: Shot up from 66.5% to over 97% in just six years, bringing UP in line with high-HDI states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Library access: Schools without libraries in UP plummeted by 96%, with over 77% of students actively using library books—a massive shift from a time when even basic toilets were a luxury.

The contrast with states like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh is stark: The percentage of schools lacking libraries has increased by 2.3 percentage points since 2018, while Andhra Pradesh has been on a steady decline since 2010, with 16.2% of schools now without library facilities.

UP’s progress in infrastructure is undeniable, even if overshadowed by broader debates.

The Takeaway

UP’s transformation, outpacing traditionally high-literacy states, is nothing short of remarkable.

In short, Uttar Pradesh’s performance in the ASER 2024 report is nothing short of transformative, outshining even traditionally high-performing southern states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.

Despite initial skepticism around school enrolment data—where COVID-induced economic distress likely skewed preferences toward government schools—the broader dataset reveals undeniable progress.

UP has doubled reading proficiency metrics, tripled arithmetic skills, and achieved near-universal access to electricity and usable toilets, with library availability surging by 96%.

While the survey’s single-visit methodology leaves room for variability, the consistent 10-year trends underscore UP’s remarkable turnaround. Southern states, once benchmarks of literacy, now lag behind, with declining metrics in key areas.

Though continuous tracking would offer more robust insights, the ASER report conclusively positions UP as a leader in educational progress, forcing its peers to rethink their models. UP’s rise is not just a statistical anomaly but a testament to its growing economic and educational contribution.

The numbers don’t lie. The question is—will the rest of India take notice?