Countrywide survey reveals deficits in student learning, Pg14

Context:

•  The Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development Rashtriya Sarvekshan (PARAKH RS) survey has revealed persistent learning gaps among Indian school students, despite increasing enrolments and educational initiatives.

Key Highlights:

• 21.15 lakh students from Grades 3, 6, and 9 assessed across 74,229 schools in 781 districts.
• Best performing States/UTs: Punjab, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Dadra Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Chandigarh.
• Kendriya Vidyalayas underperformed in Grade 3 Mathematics, but led in Grade 9 subjects, especially language.
• 67% of Grade 3 students demonstrated functional vocabulary; 55% could arrange numbers up to 99.
• Only 38% of Grade 6 students could solve real-life arithmetic problems; 31% of Grade 9 understood number systems.
• 54% of Grade 9 students could identify main points from texts; 45% showed understanding of constitutional values.

Detailed Insights:

• Despite universal enrolment gains, learning outcomes remain weak, particularly in mathematics and science across grades.
• Performance drops with grade progression, indicating cumulative learning loss and inadequate remedial mechanisms.
• Students show limited ability in applying conceptual knowledge to real-life or environmental patterns.
• Indicates gaps in the implementation of NEP 2020, NIPUN Bharat, and Samagra Shiksha initiatives.
• Reflects unequal outcomes across different school management types (central, state, aided, private).
• Highlights the need for competency-based, outcome-driven pedagogy aligned with students’ cognitive development stages.

Key Concepts Involved:

• PARAKH RS: A national assessment tool under NCERT replacing NAS, focused on competency-based evaluations rather than rote-learning outcomes.
• Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN): Core focus of NIPUN Bharat, targeting basic reading and arithmetic skills in early grades.
• Learning Poverty: Term used by World Bank indicating children unable to read simple text by age 10 — reflected in Grade 3-6 outcomes here.