Lok Sabha Question No. 2084 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-09
Subject: Learning levels among SC/ST/OBC  Students in Schools
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Smt. Bharti Pardhi, Shri Arvind Ganpat Sawant, Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-2084 ANSWERED ON -09/12/2024

## Learning levels among SC/ST/OBC Students in Schools

†2084  Smt. Bharti Pardhi:

Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne:

Shri Arvind Ganpat Sawant:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to State:

(a) whether there has been no increase in the learning levels among SC, ST and OBC students in schools across the country;

(b) if so, the current status of the learning levels among SC, ST and OBC students, especially in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra; and

(c) the steps taken by the Government to increase the learning levels as well as enrolment of the children of deprived section of the society in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (c):  Ministry of Education has been implementing a rolling programme of sample based National Achievement Survey (NAS) at classes 3, 5, 8 and 10 with an interval of three years to assess children's progress and learning competencies. It acts as an indicator of the health of the education system, so as to take appropriate steps for remedial actions at different levels.  The  last  round  of  NAS  was  conducted  on  12.11.2021  and  has  assessed  students  in Language, Mathematics & Environmental Science for class 3 & 5; Language, Mathematics, Science & Social Science for class 8 and Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Science and English for class 10. About 34 lakh students of 1.18 lakh schools of 720 districts from both rural and urban areas were assessed from Government, Government Aided and Private Schools. National, State and District report card of NAS 21 demonstrating the performance of students from  various  social  categories  have  been  released  in  public  domain  and  are  available  at http://nas.gov.in. The data comparing the grade-wise and subject-wise performance of students from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in NAS 2017 and NAS 2021 is placed at Annexure.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 makes it mandatory  for  schools  to  ensure  that  the  children  belonging  to  weaker  and  disadvantaged groups are not discriminated against and prevented from pursuing and completing elementary education on any grounds. Education is a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India and schools, other than those under the Central Government, are regulated/managed/controlled by the State/UT Governments.

National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 also emphasizes on inclusive, equitable and quality education for all. NEP, 2020 provides that special attention is given to reduce disparities in  the  educational  development  of  Schedule  Castes  and  Scheduled Tribes.  The  NEP,  2020 further mandates that students are sensitized through this new school culture, brought in by teachers, trained social workers and counsellors as well as through corresponding changes to bring in an inclusive school curriculum. Further, NEP 2020 mentions that to facilitate learning for  all  students,  with  special  emphasis  on  Socio  Economically  Disadvantaged  Groups (SEDGs), the scope of school education is broadened to facilitate multiple pathways to learning involving both formal and informal education modes.

In pursuance of the recommendation of the NEP 2020, the National Assessment Centre, PARAKH  (Performance  Assessment,  Review,  and  Analysis  of  Knowledge  for  Holistic Development), was established on 8 th February, 2023 by the Ministry of Education under the National  Council  of  Educational  Research  and  Training  (NCERT).  PARAKH's  primary objective is to establish norms, standards, and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation across  all  recognized  school  boards  in  the  country  and  to  ensure  equivalence  of  academic standards among learners across all school boards. PARAKH is closely working with school boards  and  conducting  various  workshops  on  equivalence  of  academic  standards  among learners across all school boards. PARAKH also acts as a platform for sharing best practices and  ensuring  academic  equivalence  across  various  school  boards,  fostering  fairness  and uniformity  in  student  learning  outcomes.  It  provides  guidance  to  school  boards  on  new assessment patterns, the latest research and promotes collaboration among school boards. The series  of  workshops organized by PARAKH is a critical step towards improving quality of assessment by standardizing question paper templates and enhancing the capacity of question paper  setters  across  school  boards.  Restructuring  assessment  methodologies  is  crucial  for reducing rote learning and focusing on critical thinking and the evaluation of core competencies to  enable  student  mobility  across  school  boards  and  schools  without  disadvantage  due  to differing assessment systems. For Competency Based Assessment for Holistic Development, the Holistic Progress Card (HPC) for the Preparatory, Foundational, Middle and Secondary stage have also been prepared by the PARAKH and shared with all States and UTs.

The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha has now been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an  equitable  and  inclusive  classroom  environment  which  should  take  care  of  their  diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process. Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to all States and UTs including the States of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra for undertaking various activities for  reducing  dropout  rate,  including  opening/strengthening  of  new  schools  upto  senior secondary  level,  construction  of  school  buildings  &  additional  classrooms,  setting  up,  upgradation and running of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, setting up of Netaji Subhash Chandra  Bose  Avasiya  Vidyalayas,  free  uniforms  and  free  text  books  as  per  eligibility, transport allowance and undertaking enrolment & retention drives. Further, special training for age appropriate admission of out of school children and residential as well as non-residential training  for  older  children,  seasonal  hostels  /  residential  camps,  special  training  centres  at worksites,  transport/  escort  facility  are  also  supported  to  bring  the  Out  of  School  Children (OoSC) to the formal schooling system. Under the student oriented component for the children with special needs, financial assistance is provided for identification and assessment of children with special needs, aids and appliances, braille kits and books, appropriate teaching learning material and stipend to girl students with disability etc. Financial assistance upto ₹ 2000 per annum is being provided for Out of School Children of age group of 16-19 years, belonging to socio economically disadvantaged groups, for completing their education through NIOS/SIOS, for accessing course materials and certification.

National  Initiative  for  Proficiency  in  Reading  with  Understanding  and  Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) was launched on 5 th July 2021, for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27. The mission covers the first 5 years of the school continuum of the 5+3+3+4 pedagogical structure including 3 preschool years.

PM SHRI (PM Schools for Rising India) scheme was launched on 7th Sep 2022 with an  aim  to  strengthen  the  existing  schools  from  amongst  schools  managed  by  Central government/State/UT  Government/local  bodies.  These  schools  are  to  showcase  all  the initiatives of National Education Policy 2020 and emerge as exemplar schools over a period of time, and also offer leadership to other schools in the neighbourhood. They provide leadership in their respective regions in providing high-quality education in an equitable, inclusive and joyful school environment that takes care of the diverse background, multilingual needs, and different academic abilities of children and makes them active participants in their own learning process as per the vision of NEP 2020. Under the scheme, there is a provision of setting up of more  than  14500  PM  SHRI  Schools  by  strengthening  the  existing  schools  from  amongst schools  managed  by  Central  government/State/UT  Government/local  bodies  out  of  which 12,084 PM SHRI Schools have been selected so far.

Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) Project, supported by the World Bank, is being implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) in six states namely Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Kerala over a  period  of  5  years,  i.e.,  from  F.Y .  2020-21  to  F.Y .  2024-25  and  aims  at  improving  the assessment system in schools and ensuring equal education for all. STARS Project supplements the efforts of Samagra Shiksha scheme for the school education sector. It encompasses teachers and students from pre-primary to 12 th standard as beneficiaries.

The NEP 2020 also recognises reinvigoration of DIETs to change the capacity and work culture of these institutions and develop them into vibrant institutions of excellence. Financial assistance under Samagra Shiksha is provided to States/UTs for physical upgradation of all 613 functional DIETs in the country in a phased manner in the next five years. In the FY 2023-24, 125 DIETS across 33 States/UTs with an approximate budget of Rs. 92,320.18 lakhs were approved.

The  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  Pradhan  Mantri  Poshan  Shakti  Nirman  (PM POSHAN) has been revamped and extended to cover  students  of  Balvatika  in  addition  to students  of  Classes  I-VIII  in  Government  and  Government-Aided  Schools.  It  encourages setting up of School Nutrition Gardens (SNG) and strengthening of community participation through 'Tithi Bhojan'.

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ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (C) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  2084  FOR  ANSWER  ON  09.12.2024  ASKED  BY  SMT.  BHARTI  PARDHI,  SHRI  SHRIRANG  APPA CHANDU  BARNE  AND  SHRI  ARVIND  GANPAT  SAWANT  HON'BLE  MEMBERS  OF  PARLIAMENT REGARDING LEARNING LEVELS AMONG SC/ST/OBC STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS

## The  data  comparing  the  grade-wise  and  subject-wise  performance  of  students  from  Madhya Pradesh in NAS 2017 and NAS 2021. Grade 3:

| Grade 3               | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   |
|-----------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|                       | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  |
| Subject               | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   |
| Language              | 70        | 67        | 71        | 71        | 67        | 66        | 66        | 64        |
| Mathematics           | 63        | 60        | 64        | 64        | 63        | 59        | 62        | 60        |
| Environmental Science | 66        | 62        | 66        | 65        | 63        | 62        | 62        | 60        |

## Grade 5:

| Grade 5               | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   |
|-----------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|                       | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  |
| Subject               | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   |
| Language              | 58        | 55        | 59        | 61        | 59        | 57        | 58        | 61        |
| Mathematics           | 52        | 49        | 52        | 54        | 50        | 46        | 48        | 50        |
| Environmental Science | 57        | 54        | 57        | 58        | 56        | 53        | 54        | 55        |

## Grade 8:

| Grade 8        | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   |
|----------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|                | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  |
| Subject        | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   |
| Language       | 55        | 51        | 57        | 58        | 54        | 49        | 55        | 63        |
| Mathematics    | 40        | 36        | 41        | 42        | 43        | 38        | 41        | 42        |
| Science        | 43        | 41        | 45        | 45        | 42        | 38        | 41        | 46        |
| Social Science | 44        | 41        | 45        | 47        | 42        | 40        | 42        | 44        |

## Grade 10 :

| Grade 10               | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   |
|------------------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
|                        | NAS 2018   | NAS 2018   | NAS 2018   | NAS 2018   | NAS 2021   | NAS 2021   | NAS 2021   | NAS 2021   |
| Subject                | SC         | ST         | OBC        | General    | SC         | ST         | OBC        | General    |
| Mathematics            | 30         | 27         | 31         | 31         | 34         | 28         | 34         | 38         |
| Science                | 31         | 30         | 32         | 32         | 35         | 30         | 35         | 39         |
| Social Science         | 36         | 34         | 37         | 37         | 36         | 32         | 37         | 43         |
| English                | 29         | 27         | 30         | 32         | 40         | 33         | 42         | 52         |
| Modern Indian Language | 48         | 43         | 50         | 53         | 43         | 36         | 44         | 50         |

## The data comparing the grade-wise and subject-wise performance of students from Maharashtra in NAS 2017 and NAS 2021. Grade 3:

| Grade 3               | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   | Grade 3   |
|-----------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|                       | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  |
| Subject               | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   |
| Language              | 70        | 67        | 70        | 72        | 67        | 65        | 67        | 67        |
| Mathematics           | 65        | 61        | 65        | 66        | 61        | 50        | 62        | 61        |
| Environmental Science | 68        | 64        | 69        | 70        | 58        | 57        | 57        | 59        |

## Grade 5:

| Grade 5               | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   | Grade 5   |
|-----------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|                       | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  |
| Subject               | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   |
| Language              | 59        | 59        | 60        | 63        | 56        | 58        | 58        | 60        |
| Mathematics           | 52        | 53        | 52        | 53        | 43        | 46        | 45        | 46        |
| Environmental Science | 54        | 56        | 55        | 56        | 50        | 52        | 52        | 52        |

## Grade 8:

| Grade 8        | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   | Grade 8   |
|----------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|                | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2017  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  | NAS 2021  |
| Subject        | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   | SC        | ST        | OBC       | General   |
| Language       | 61        | 57        | 63        | 64        | 55        | 48        | 57        | 59        |
| Mathematics    | 38        | 41        | 41        | 41        | 32        | 33        | 34        | 35        |
| Science        | 39        | 41        | 41        | 41        | 37        | 36        | 39        | 41        |
| Social Science | 40        | 42        | 42        | 43        | 38        | 37        | 40        | 41        |

## Grade 10:

| Grade 10               | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   | Grade 10   |
|------------------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
|                        | NAS 2018   | NAS 2018   | NAS 2018   | NAS 2018   | NAS 2021   | NAS 2021   | NAS 2021   | NAS 2021   |
| Subject                | SC         | ST         | OBC        | General    | SC         | ST         | OBC        | General    |
| Mathematics            | 31         | 30         | 34         | 35         | 28         | 27         | 29         | 31         |
| Science                | 33         | 31         | 34         | 36         | 33         | 30         | 34         | 36         |
| Social Science         | 39         | 36         | 40         | 41         | 35         | 34         | 37         | 40         |
| English                | 34         | 33         | 37         | 40         | 43         | 38         | 45         | 51         |
| Modern Indian Language | 48         | 44         | 50         | 51         | 42         | 40         | 45         | 46         |

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