ASER 2018 is a nation-wide household survey that provides a snapshot of children’s schooling and learning for a representative sample of children across rural India. Children in the age group 3 to 16 are surveyed to find out their enrollment status in school or pre-school. Children in the age group 5 to 16 are assessed one-on-one to understand their basic reading and arithmetic abilities. ASER continues to be the only national source of information about children’s foundational skills across the country. Girls not in School The percentage share of girls in the age group 15-16 years, who are not enrolled in school in Maharashtra (5.1%) is less than half of that of the share at the national level (13.5%). This ranks the state 8th with respect to the share of female students who are not in school, across all 28 states. Fall in Private School Enrollment The fall in the share of students enrolled in private schools in Maharashtra during 2016-18 is higher than the share at the national level (7-10 age group). In Maharashtra, the percentage point difference in private school enrollment during 2016-18 of boys is 0.6 while that of girls is at 0.4 (7-10 age group). About 10% more children in Grade 3 in public schools of Maharashtra can read Grade 2 level textbook than those in private schools. Reading Levels About 44% of grade 3 children in public schools of Maharashtra can read a grade 2 level text book. The same figure for their counterparts in private schools is 34% (2018 data). There has been an increase of about 3% grade 3 students who can read grade 2 level text in public schools of Maharashtra between 2016 and 2018. However, in private schools this number has dipped by almost 5%. In 2016, 38% of grade 3 students enrolled in private schools could read a grade 2 level text. However, the same in 2018 is 33.6%. Arithmetic Skills About 5% more students in grade three in public schools can do two-digit subtraction than their counterparts in private schools ( 2018 data). #LeadershipForEquity #WeAreLFE #ASER