These numbers were arrived at after a year-end learning-level assessment was conducted between December 10-30, 2018. (Source: File Photo)After learning interventions over the course of 2018, the number of children between classes III-V in Delhi government schools who can do division at their grade level has seen a jump of nearly 35 percentage points, while the same increased by over 20 percentage points for children between classes VI-VIII. Reading ability of children in both age categories also saw a jump of 20 percentage points.
These numbers were arrived at after a year-end learning-level assessment was conducted between December 10-30, 2018, to assess the outcomes of the government’s Mission Buniyaad programme and to plan learning interventions for the next year.
Need for intervention
According to education department officials, Mission Buniyaad will be carried out in 2019 as well, because while there has been substantive improvement in learning levels, the outcomes are “not to satisfaction”.
Mission Buniyaad was launched in Delhi government and MCD schools with the stated aim that “there should be no child in any class who cannot read his/her textbook or solve basic numericals in Maths”. The goal was to strengthen foundational learning at the primary level, after it was found that a very low number of children who join government schools at Class VI could read their textbooks — the numbers stood at 25% in 2016; 32% in 2017; and 29% in 2018.
The main component of the programme was the “summer camp”, which was held during the vacation between May and July. Following this, students who were still behind continued to be mentored and monitored through monthly assessments.
With findings of the assessment conducted in April 2018 as the baseline, the percentage of class III and class IV students who can do grade-level maths saw a massive leap from 18.6% to 53.9%, and 27.9% to 64.29% respectively. In older classes, with a better baseline, this jump tapers — from 56.3% to 75.63% in Class VII and from 62.7% to 80.28% in Class VIII.
In reading grade-level texts in Hindi, the growth registered in Class III was from 35.9% to 62.52%, and in Class IV from 49% to 73.11%. The baseline in reading was not much better in older classes, which went from 47.1% to 65.43% in Class VII and from 54.6% to 71.25% in Class VIII.
However, even with some large gains, the number of students who can read and do maths at their grade-level is well below 80% in most classes. The notable exception is in Class VIII maths at 80.28%. Even after the interventions, only 57.35% of Class VI students can read at their level, and 53.9% of Class III students can perform grade-level maths.
“We will have a meeting sometime next week to decide in what manner and intensity the programme will be carried out this year, and if we need to make any revisions in the supplementary learning material,” said Director of Education Sanjay Goel.
While the Buniyaad scheme was implemented in MCD schools as well, the assessment was only for government schools.
