First, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) published by a voluntary organization has earned the status of being the most representative assessment of school education in India. The 2022 report is the first complete, nationwide report since 2018, and shows that only 20.2% of Class III students can read a Class II text. In 2018, this figure was 27.7%. Nationally, the proportion of children enrolled in grade 5 in public or private schools who can read at least a grade 2 level text fell from 50.5% in 2018 to 42.8% in 2022. Much discussion has centered on the decline in reading ability. But the decline from which the achievement level has been recorded is in itself a matter of grave concern. It calls for immediate remedial action to bring literacy and numeracy to fully functional levels at all levels of school education, especially at the primary level, involving the government, voluntary agencies, corporate social responsibility wings, youth and student wings of political parties. , participates retired military. Civil servants and school teachers, as well as ex-servicemen, who can be found in rural areas.
It is quite noteworthy that Class III students this year can study at Class II level or at any level. These children enrolled during the first year of the pandemic, when schools were closed and later went online. It is noteworthy that even without functional schools, a fifth child still managed to learn to read. This probably indicates that the fifth child comes from families where the adults are not only literate but also have the time and inclination to teach the younger children. This still leaves 80% of young children behind for life: without the primary language skills they are expected to learn, the core qualities to get them through school, to deal with what is ever-changing. To prepare for, and perhaps have ever more in-demand skill sets during their future work lives?
Thanks to the proliferation of smartphones in the population and the vast variety of educational content available online, India now has new opportunities to educate its youth. While it is ludicrous to think that digital technologies can substitute for committed teachers, digital technologies can act as force multipliers in the hands of dedicated teachers, and even more so in the hands of parents who want to educate their children. Committed to educating. Central institutions like the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) should come out with educational training modules that incorporate digital technologies and online resources in a complementary role in educating the youth.
The National Education Policy (NEP) states that education should be imparted in the mother tongue. This is very sensible. But this modicum of understanding is often buried under thick layers of hostility towards English and the imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speakers.
Scandinavian countries with populations as large as the suburbs of Indian metros teach their children in their distinctive mother tongues. As schooling progresses, most children also learn English and German. India has 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Each language, with its associated grammar, linguistic subtleties and literature, is a priceless legacy of human evolutionary success, and a window to the past of the region where the language is spoken and the nation as a whole. Instead of recognizing and celebrating this wealth, a large number of Indians are bent upon sending their children to so-called English-medium schools, where the education that young minds should receive is imparted in a language that Most do. Didn’t hear the quote at home.
The desire of aspiring parents for their children to gain proficiency in English is entirely understandable. What is not rational is the axiomatic assumption that the only way for children to achieve proficiency in English is for children to learn history, geography, science and mathematics in English. This only serves to set a premium on rote learning, as children, for the most part, lack the requisite command over English to articulate their thoughts in that language. In other words, the pursuit of English distorts the teaching of all subjects in school.
A fundamental imperative is to comprehensively improve the teaching of English in schools, regardless of the medium of instruction. The online resources now available for this purpose make it entirely possible for a determined effort to succeed, so that children acquire a reasonable command over English in addition to their mother tongue. In states where Hindi is not spoken, Hindi, which is the natural link language of India, should be encouraged, not imposed. Economic interdependence of regions, migration, influence of Hindi films and songs – all these work for the spread of Hindi in any case.
It is important for children to learn elementary arithmetic in its entirety. Those who do not understand addition cannot even understand subtraction, let alone multiplication and division. To teach trigonometry to a child who cannot describe an isosceles triangle at right angles is to close the door on any possible science or technology future for that child. The fault is not of the child but of the pedagogy which considers 30% understanding sufficient for the child to move to the next class. Basic language and math skills demand 100% comprehension.
Remedial education cannot be confined to the classroom. There is a need for frequent engagement with libraries and reading rooms in the public domain, and remedial education at home. Those who wish to build the nation can do nothing better than volunteering their energies for the cause with the help of comprehensive public-private partnership.
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