NAS 2021 Report Card puts J&K Schools ahead of National Average

 

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has registered an impressive performance in the sample-based National Achievement Survey (NAS) conducted by the Ministry of Education for classes 3, 5, 8 and 10 on November 12 last year.

The survey, which took place in all 733 districts across the country, was a competency-based national-level large-scale assessment that aimed to provide information about students’ learning achievement so that a system-level reflection on the effectiveness of school education in the country could be conducted.

Language, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science were chosen as subjects for assessment in classes 3 and 5, while Environmental Studies was added for class 8 and Social Science and Modern Indian Language for class 10.

A total number of 79256 students and 16260 teachers in 3650 schools from all the 20 districts of J&K UT participated in the survey.

According to the NAS report card published recently, the percentage ratio of boys to girls for class 3 was 51 and 49 respectively while it was 78 and 22 for urban to rural.

The performance percentage for Language stood at 66 as against the national average of 62. Similarly, for Mathematics the percentage stood at 59 in comparison to 57 while as for EVS, it was 59 as against 57.

The management participation ratio with respect to schools run by the state government, private recognized and central government was at 46, 47 and 7 per cent respectively.

However, there was no significant improvement over the NAS 2017 results, with the exception of Mathematics, which showed a modest improvement. The performance of boys and girls did not differ significantly, despite the fact that girls scored marginally higher at all levels—basic, competent, and advanced.

Pulwama topped the results with 73.4% followed by Srinagar at 71.6 and Anantnag at 70.1 as against the national average of 59%. Jammu stood at 66.4.

The quality of the teaching staff and sports facilities were praised by the head teachers who also emphasized the need to increase audio-visual and library facilities. The Covid-19 epidemic did cause issues, with 40% of pupils reporting difficulties studying at home.

The percentage ratio of boys to girls in class 5 was 50.9 and 49.1, respectively, while the urban-rural participation ratio was 76 and 24. In schools run by the state government, private recognized institutions, and the central government, the management participation ratio was 43%, 49%, and 7%, respectively.

Language had a performance percentage of 61, which was higher than the national average of 55. Similarly, the percentage for Mathematics was 48, compared to 44, and for EVS, it was 54, compared to 48.

In comparison to the NAS 2017 results, there was a significant improvement in Mathematics and EVS, though Language scored 13 points lower.

Even while girls scored somewhat higher at all levels—basic, proficient, and advanced—the performance of boys and girls did not differ significantly.

Anantnag came out on top with 64.8 percent, followed by Pulwama with 62.7 percent and Srinagar with 62.6 percent, compared to a national average of 49 percent. Jammu had a score of 59.0.

In class 8, the percentage ratio of boys to girls was 49.3 and 50.7, respectively, while the percentage ratio of urban to rural participation was 77 and 23.

In schools run by the state government, private recognized schools, and the central government, the management participation ratio was 52%, 43%, and 5%, respectively.

Language had a performance percentage of 59, which was higher than the national average of 53. Similarly, the percentage for Mathematics was 39 versus 36, for EVS, 45 versus 39, and for Social Science, 43 versus 39.

In comparison to the national average of 41.9 percent, Srinagar led the rankings with 55.7 percent, followed by Anantnag at 53.2 and Jammu at 52.7.

Head teachers were pleased with the teaching staff and sports facilities, but they emphasized the need to increase audio-visual and library resources. The Covid epidemic did cause issues, with 98 percent of pupils reporting some type of difficulty when studying at home.

For class 10, the percentage ratio of boys to girls was 48.9 and 51.1, respectively, while the urban-rural participation ratio was 71 and 29.

In schools run by the state government, private recognized institutions, and the central government, the management participation ratio was 51, 45, and 4%, respectively.

Mathematics had a performance % of 31 compared to the national average of 32, Science had a performance percentage of 38 to 35, Social Science had a performance percentage of 39 to 37, and English had a performance percentage of 50 to 43. It was 36 to 41 for Modern Indian Languages (MIL).

Compared to NAS 2017, Mathematics and Science had a little improvement, while Social Science, English, and MIL took a dip.

In comparison to the national average of 37.8%, Jammu topped the rankings with 46.3 percent, followed by Srinagar with 44.5 percent and Anantnag with 43.3 percent.

Director State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Prof Veena Pandita, while congratulating the School Education Department and commenting on the report card said the efforts of everyone involved in the education system helped significantly in putting J&K ahead of the national average in the recently declared NAS results.

“I’d like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Principal Secretary B K Singh, Director School Education Jammu, Director School Education Kashmir, Project Director Samagra Shiksha, Chief Education Officers and the NAS team from SCERT for their efforts to make this survey a success,” Prof Pandita said. “All this would have not been possible without the ever sincere and dedicated efforts of our coordinators at the district level, representatives from the CBSE, Principals of the DIETs (District Nodal Officers), field investigators and observers.”

SCERT had taken a slew of measures, particularly in light of the NAS-17 results, which were not encouraging.

Prior to the NAS survey, the SCERT performed a UT-level assessment of classes 3, 5, and 8 on September 30, 2021, with the goal of discovering learning gaps created by the Covid-19 epidemic.

“The survey, which was performed throughout all of J&K UT’s districts, served as a dress rehearsal for the NAS,” stated G H Reshi, Academic Officer. “Because the survey was conducted along the same lines as the NAS, the task ahead of us became relatively easy.”

The SCERT gave unused survey question sheets to students from time to time to familiarize them with the evaluation methodology, he said.

Director Pandita said the results would help us to comprehend effectively the students’ performance as per the different learning outcomes vis-à-vis the contextual variables. She urged the teachers to work harder in future to improve the performance and quality further.