TIMES VIEW

PUNE: There is clear indication that primary school children in the state are not learning much of their basics. Just about 30% of the students from standard VI to VIII (middle school) in the state can carry out division and not even 60% from standards III to V can subtract when given maths problems, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) by non profit organisation Pratham released on Wednesday said.The ASER 2016 survey was conducted across Maharashtra in 33 rural districts, 973 villages and 19,430 households by 11 NGOs, 23 colleges and various universities in the state. As many as 26,393 school children participated in the survey . The report is an indicator of the poor impact the state government's flagship programmes like Pragat Shaikshanik Maharashtra have had on improving the quality of education.The survey put forth arithmetic questions related to recognition of randomly chosen numbers from 1 to 99, 2-digit numerical subtraction problems with borrowing and 3-digit by 1-digit numerical division problems.The reading test comprised a set of common, familiar two-letter words and one or or two matras in Marathi. The standard I text has simple six word sentences and the standard II texts have short 7-10 sentence stories with common words and a familiar context.A look at the trends over the years shows that reading levels in the primary section seem to have improved but have fallen in the upper primary classes.If 73.2% students from standard V could read standard II level text in 2010, about 62.2% could do so in 2016. On the other hand, if 91.7% students from standard VIII could read standard II level text in 2010, only 75.9% could do so in 2016.The percentage of children in standard III who can read standard II level text in government schools was higher (41.2) than private schools (38.8). But the arithmetic levels have dropped in both government and private schools over the years.While the director of primary education did not respond to calls made by this reporter, the findings are a worry for other educationists who said there was improvement in infrastructure, but not the quality of education.Former chairman of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Vasant Kalpande said, “Many schools have got computers, good buildings and even ISO certification but the learning quality has not improved. There is chaos in policy decisions or schemes in the education sector with little guidance or direction. Educationists and teachers should be roped in to help the department. There is a push and pull from all directions resulting in zero effect as of now.“The state government has to pull up its socks if it wants to improve the quality of education which cannot be achieved by making schools digital in villages that have no connectivity or telling teachers to take selfies with students to improve attendance. Students must have dedicated and innovative teachers who are free from non-academic work like weighing rice for midday meals. Many teachers in government schools have found ways to overcome a resource crunch and ensured effective learning. They need encouragement. Most importantly, the teaching profession has to be accorded due status and respect to make it a good career option that will attract the best.