The learning levels of school students in almost all subjects, including Mathematics and Language, dropped as they progressed to higher classes, according to the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 report, released by the Union ministry of education on Wednesday.
The triennial survey, which was conducted in November last year, focused on competency-based assessment in language, mathematics, environmental science, social science, and English at classes third, fourth, fifth, eighth and tenth. It reflects the overall assessment of the school education system.
In all, 340,000 students of 118,000 schools in 720 districts across the country were assessed.
According to the survey report, the national average percentage of students for class third was 59%, which declined by 10 percentage points to 49% in class fifth. It further declined to 41.9% in class eight and then 37.8% in class 10. The performance recorded a decline in almost all subjects, said the survey. For instance, the mathematics score nationally was 57% in class third, dropping by almost 10 percentage points to 44% in fifth, and to 36% in class eighth, and 32% in class 10th.
Similarly, the language score nationally was 62% in class third, and dropped to 52% in class fifth, and to 53% in class eighth. For science, the national score declined from 39% in class eighth to 35% in class 10.
{{/usCountry}}Similarly, the language score nationally was 62% in class third, and dropped to 52% in class fifth, and to 53% in class eighth. For science, the national score declined from 39% in class eighth to 35% in class 10.
{{/usCountry}}“The objective of NAS 2021 is to evaluate children’s progress and learning competencies as an indicator of the efficiency of the education system, so as to take appropriate steps for remedial actions at different levels. It will help to unravel the gaps in learning and will support state/UT governments in developing long term, mid-term and short-term interventions to improve learning levels and orient on differential planning based on NAS 2021 data,” the ministry said in a statement.
The survey further highlighted that the average performance of schools in rural areas remained “significantly below” those urban areas in same states and union territories (UTs), and the performance of students from the schedule caste (SC)/ schedule tribe (ST)/ Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories remained lower than that of students from the general category.
For instance, the average achievement of schools in rural areas remained lower than their urban counterparts across all states and UTs, excluding Manipur and Daman and Diu, in language in class eighth.
In terms of social-group wise performance, the average performance of SC/ST/OBC students remained low in almost all classes across the states, in comparison to the general category students. For instance, in class 10’s English, the national average score of general students stood at 308 while it was 283 for SC students, 280 for ST and 289 for OBC students.
In gender-wise performance, the average performance of girls remained better than the boys in almost all subjects across the classes, both nationally and at state level.
The report also highlighted the perception of students about learning at home during the pandemic when the schools remained closed, and 78% of students termed it as “burdensome with a lot of assignments. At least 38% students said they faced difficulties in learning at home, while 24% said they did not have digital devices at home.
According to the report, while the majority of the states performed significantly below the overall national score, some states such as Kerala, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Punjab performed better than the national average. Delhi’s performance in class eighth and class 10 was better when compared with the national average.