India, Jan. 28 -- Findings of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 point to a robust recovery from the learning loss incurred in the Covid years. Extended school shutdowns, digital hurdles - lack of access to hardware/connectivity and know-how among teachers and households - and unready systems marked much of the academic years 2020-21 and 2021-2022. As a result, learning gains steadily built over the past couple of decades saw significant erosion. While ASER 2022 painted a mournful picture, ASER 2024 reassures that things are back on track and, quite encouragingly, the progress is led by government schools, which historically have been magnets for criticism.

This turnaround may have been ushered in by the Foundational Liter...