Andhra Pradesh is right at the top when it comes to pre-school attendance in Southern states, reveals survey

Andhra Pradesh has the highest pre-school attendance rate among the Southern States, the National Family Health Survey-5, released on Saturday, May 14, has revealed.

The births of as many as 92 per cent of children aged below five were registered with the authorities, the second-lowest among the southern States. Telangana posted the lowest birth registry rate of 90 per cent, the survey for the year 2019-21 found.

The survey, held between July - November 2019, covered 10,975 women with a response rate of 97.4 per cent and 1,559 men with 92.2 per cent rate of response.

The survey further pegged the household population (2-4 years) attending pre-school in Andhra Pradesh at 75.4 per cent, with a break-up of 74.5 per cent in urban and 75.8 in rural areas. All other southern States showed a lesser pre-school attendance percentage with Telangana standing second with 69 per cent. Karnataka stood last with 44.5 per cent.

Pre-school attendance, such as at an anganwadi centre, improved school readiness by providing quality learning through interactive play methods with qualified instructors, the survey pointed out.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded the highest pre-school attendance (89per cent), followed by Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim (74 per cent).

Another interesting aspect the survey revealed was that while considering the percentage of the household population aged above 15 years who consumed alcohol in the state, 23.1 per cent of males above 15 years took alcohol while only 0.5 per cent of females consumed the beverage. The percentage of males in this age group who consumed alcohol was much higher at 43.4 per cent in Telangana and 25.3 per cent in Tamil Nadu.

Consumption of tobacco among the above-15 group was on the higher side among both males and females. Around 22.6 per cent of males consumed tobacco products while 3.9 per cent of females (4.7 per cent in rural areas) used such products.