New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) Portraying a poor picture of the quality of elementary education in the country, India's annual the Economic Survey said Thursday that over 47 percent children studying in Class 5 cannot even read Class 2 textbooks and the trend has worsened in the last two years.

There was a decline in the number of Class 5 students who could read Class 2 books last year, from that in 2008-09.

'The all-India figure for the percentage of all rural children in standard 5 asked to read standard 2 level text books shows a decline from 56.2 percent in 2008 to 52.8 percent in 2009,' the survey, tabled in parliament Thursday, said.

'This means that well over 40 percent of all rural children in standard 5 in India are at least three grade level behind,' it added.

The survey quoting a human resource development ministry-funded study said that in Tamil Nadu there is an eight percent increase in the level of reading capability among students of Class 5. Both Punjab and Karnataka too have shown some improvement in this fiscal from the previous one.

'There is hardly any change in other states in reading as compared to 2008,' the survey underlined.

In mathematics, the ability to do division problems has hardly improved among Class 5 children across India. Only seven states show increase of five to seven percent. These states are Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

The survey also highlighted that barring two states - Kerala and Karnataka - there is an increase in the number of students taking tuition.

It said the number of schools with toilets has increased and the enrolment ratio too is on an upward swing.

'In 2009, 96 percent of children in the age group of six to 14 in rural India were enrolled in schools,' it added.