Bhubaneswar, Jan. 18: The Annual Status of Education Report-2016, which was released today, reveals several facts that put the state government's all tall claims to rest.

The report mentions that at least 48 per cent Class V students of both state government-run and private schools in Odisha cannot read simple Odia texts of Class II standard, whereas only 25 per cent students of Class V in these schools can read English words of Class II level.

In mathematics, only 26 per cent Class V students of government and private schools can solve a division problem of Class II level, and 43 per cent Class V students can successfully complete a subtraction problem of Class II. When it comes to individual performance, government schools lag far behind the private schools in all aspects across the state.

"While several indicators of the survey such as provision of midday meals, students-teacher ratio and presence of toilets have gone up in all the government schools, education level figures are a pointer to the fact that the foundations of learning in students of the state are still not strong," finds the survey.

The report was released today in New Delhi after a break of one year in 2015. The report is the largest annual household survey in rural India that focuses on the status of children's schooling and basic learning. Facilitated by an organisation called Prat-ham, the survey is carried out by volunteers from local partner organisations in almost all rural districts of the country.

The proportion of "small schools" in the government primary school sector continues to grow. The percentage of multi-grade classrooms has also increased. Of the government primary schools visited in 2016, 57.8 per cent were small schools as compared to 46.5 per cent in 2014. More students were found in multi-grade classrooms (that is sharing the classrooms primarily because of lack of infrastructure). As many as 65.5 per cent students in Class IV were found sharing other classrooms in 2016 as compared to 62.0 per cent such students in 2014.

The number of school dropouts among girls has also exceeded the school dropout figures of boys. While 17.1 per cent boys in 15-16 age group are out of school, as many as 19.2 per cent girls of the same age group are out of school. The survey finds that several factors such as lack of water and sanitation facilities are responsible for it. The survey says that as many as 17.6 per cent schools had no provision for girls' toilet.

Despite the provision, the toilets have been kept locked in 6.7 per cent schools. In 10 per cent schools, the toilets are not in a usable condition. Similarly in 13.1 per cent schools, there is a provision of drinking water facility but no drinking water is available.

Students in the state are increasingly depending on paid additional private tutoring, reveals the report.

Besides, the trend for private tuitions has witnessed an increase in both government and private schools. Among students from classes I to V, 40.5 per cent students are reportedly taking tuitions. The number has a jump from 38.9 per cent in 2014. Similarly, the number of students in private schools taking tuitions has also seen a marked rise from 7.5 per cent in 2014 to 9.5 per cent in 2016.

In classes VI to VIII, the number of government school students taking tuitions has risen to 48.1 per cent in 2016 from 47.8 per cent in 2014. Similarly, 3.9 per cent students in private schools under this age group are taking tuitions as compared to 3.5 per cent in 2014. Tuition expenditures have ranged from between Rs 100 to Rs 400. The fee expenses by government school students is less in compared to private school students, the report said.

The survey was carried out at 17,473 villages, covering 3,50,232 households and 5,62,305 children in the age group from three to 16.

Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority director Mahendra Mallick said the department was yet to receive the report and would study the findings.