Lok Sabha Question No. 4113 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-27
Subject: Assessment of School Education
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: SHARAD TRIPATHI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4113 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.3.2017

## Assessment of School Education

## †4113. SHRI SHARAD TRIPATHI:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  as  per  the  annual  status  of  the  education  related  report/study undertaken by the Government on the schools situated in the rural areas of  the  country  reveals  decline  in  the  performance  of  students  in  the important areas of reading, comprehension and mathematics inspite of the increased enrolment of students;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  other  important  aspects  of  this  study  and reaction of the Government thereto; and
- (c) the measures taken/being taken by the Government for the resolution of this issue?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)

- (a) & (b).   The Central Government has developed student assessment system called  the  National  Achievement  Survey  (NAS),  which  is  independently conducted  by  National  Council  of  Educational  Research  and  Training (NCERT) across the country. The NAS is conducted for classes III, V, VIII & X. However, a non-governmental organization also conducts annual achievement  surveys  released  in  the  Annual  Status  of  Education  Report (ASER). It is a household survey limited to rural areas of the country. As per their  report  of  2016,  there  has  been  improvement  in  terms  of  learning outcomes.  The  Department  of  School  Education  &  Literacy,  Ministry  of Human  Resource  Development  was  not  associated  with  this  ASER  2016 survey.

Some of the major findings of the ASER, 2016 are summarised as follows:

- i. In almost all states there is some improvement in the arithmetic levels of children enrolled in government schools in Std III.
- ii. From 2014 to 2016, for Std V children, the level of arithmetic as measured  by  children's  ability  to  do  simple  division  problems has remained almost the same at 26%.
- iii. In  comparison,  in  2016,  24.5%  of  children  enrolled  in  Std  V could  read  simple  English  sentences.  This  number  is  virtually unchanged since 2009.

(c). The  Central  Government  through  a  centrally  funded  programme,  Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), financially supports State and UT Governments to address gaps and challenges in ensuring quality education to children in elementary classes through  recruitment  of  additional  teachers  to  improve  the  Pupil  Teacher  Ratio (PTR),  regular  annual-in-  service  teacher  training  to  all  teachers  to  update  their skills and knowledge, support for Computer Aided Learning at upper primary level and  regular  academic  support  through  Block  Resource  Centres  and  Cluster Resource Centres. Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat, a sub-programme under SSA has been launched to enhance the quality of foundational learning in languages and early  mathematics  in  classes  I  and  II  and  a  focused  programme  for  Science  and Maths at upper primary level under SSA is also being supported. In order to focus on quality education, the Central RTE Rules have been amended on 20th February, 2017  to  include  reference  on  class-wise,  subject-wise  Learning  Outcomes.  The Learning  Outcomes  for  each  class  in  Languages  (Hindi,  English  and  Urdu), Mathematics,  Environmental  Studies,  Science  and  Social  Science  up  to  the elementary stage have, accordingly, been finalized and shared with all States and UTs.  These  would  serve  as  a  guideline  for  States  and  UTs  to  ensure  that  all children acquire appropriate learning level.

In  order  to  provide  quality  education  to  students  at  the  secondary  level,  various interventions  are  funded  under  the  Rashtriya  Madhyamik  Shiksha  Abhiyan (RMSA), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. These include provision for: (i) Appointment  of  1  head  teacher  and  5  teachers  (2  language  teachers,  1  science teacher, 1 social science and 1 maths teacher) for every new/upgraded secondary school, (ii) additional teachers to improve Pupil Teacher Ratio, (iii) induction and inservice  training  for  Principals,  Teachers  ,  Master  Trainers  and  Key  Resource Persons, (iv) Maths and Science kits, (v) Lab equipments, (vi) Special teaching for learning enhancement, (vii) ICT facilities in schools, (viii) introduction of vocational education  component  at  the  secondary  level  and  (ix)  activities  under  'Unnati' project for improvement in English language skills.

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