Class10 students fare poorly in all subjects, except Punjabi
NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT SURVEY State fails to find place among top performers as average score of students was just 39% in five subjects
CHANDIGARH: As the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government grapples with pressure from within the ruling party and teachers’ unions over the teacher transfer and rationalisation policy, a nationwide assessment survey carried out to evaluate learning competencies of Class-10 students has thrown up alarming results for the state.
A majority of students of government, government-aided and private schools did not do well in any of the five subjects except their mother tongue as per the survey findings. The average score of the state students, who took the assessment test, was 39% in five subjects — mathematics, science, social science, English and modern Indian language (Punjabi). As a result, the state could not find a place among the top performers. Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Goa did the best overall among states. However, Punjab’s showing was better than some states in the northern region.
Around 53,000 students of 1,753 schools participated in the largest-ever survey of student achievements for Class 10 – about 39% of them were from private schools.
The test was conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the school education department, Punjab, for the human resource development ministry four months ago to diagnose maladies and take corrective measures,
AROUND 53,000 STUDENTS OF 1,753 PUNJAB SCHOOLS PARTICIPATED IN THE SURVEY OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS FOR CLASS 10
said an official. The findings will be used as inputs in designing initiatives to improve learning outcomes.
Subject-wise, their performance was dismal in mathematics as 70% students could not answer even two-thirds of the questions correctly.
They did a tad better in science and English with 60% students figuring among “students at risk” – read likely to flunk their subject exam – as they failed to give correct answers to
most questions. In social science, about 50% answered one-third questions correctly. Barring Punjabi, not even 10% of the students were able to give correct answers of more than 75% questions in any of the other four subjects.
Among districts, Gurdaspur, Fazilka and Bathinda were the top performers in the state with the best average scores. Gurdaspur was on top in math, science and English whereas Bathinda and Fazilka figured among the best three performers in math, science and social science. Mohali, which probably has the best pupil-teacher ratio and infrastructure, was among the worst performers. Fatehgarh Sahib and Tarn Taran also did not do well.
However, an official said the department was making unprecedented efforts to improve the quality of education by streamlining
teaching-learning processes and focusing on discipline among teachers and students. “Discrepancies in teacher deployment remain a huge problem. Teacher transfer and rationalisation policies are still to be implemented,” said a department official, requesting anonymity.
In a similar assessment survey of lower classes, the performance of children of classes 3, 5 and 8 left much to be desired. The students were off the mark in mathematics, but fared better in languages. In Class 5, only 37% could answer more than half the questions meant for class-appropriate competencies correctly. The numbers for class 8 were even worse. School heads had listed lack of teaching staff, inadequately qualified teachers, student discipline and shortage of library resources as their key challenges.