Over 65 per cent of the 1,374 surveyed students between ages 14 and 18 could not solve basic arithmetic division problems and over 25% could not read a complete sentence in English.
ASER findings reveal a worrying deficit of basic skills but telecom connectivity and digital enablers offer cause for hope as it might yet be possible for online education to play a complementary role in getting left-behinds up to speed.
The ASER report stated that of all youth who used social media, only about half were familiar with the online safety settings that were included in the survey. Males are more likely to know about these settings than females.