Odu Karnataka to help bridge learning gaps

BENGALURU: Given how the pandemic pulled down learning levels of children following closure of schools, the government is now planning to reintroduce the Odu Karnataka programme for students of classes 4 and 5.
Odu Karnataka (Read Karnataka) was launched in 2016 in three districts of Mysuru, Ramanagara and Mandya and was gradually extended to 20 others in 2019-20 before Covid-19 hit the country. The programme in partnership with Pratham, an NGO, taught children basic numeracy and reading skills.
“There is no denying that the learning gaps are huge. We will restart Odu Karnataka across the state from next month. Students will be given an assessment in the beginning of the programme, divided into groups based on their learning levels and trained accordingly,” said a senior official from Samagra Shikshana Karnataka.
The Annual Status of Education Report (Aser) 2021 for Karnataka released in September pointed to a huge drop in learning levels among children. In 2020, only 34% of class 5 students could read class 2 textbooks, while it was 46% in 2018. The drop was around 16 percentage points in government schools where only 33% students were able to do so, whereas it was 6% in private schools. This is the worst drop since 2014, the year from when Aser made the comparison.
“Teachers are currently looking at bridging the gap. But Odu Karnataka will make it more intensive. Special learning kits have been tendered and supplied. Children will be trained one hour daily for 60 days,” the official added.
As per the programme, a simple one-on-one assessment is conducted and children are grouped according to the result. The NGO trains cluster resource persons, who in turn train teachers to guide children’s activities and work. For each group, there are activities and materials ready and appropriate for their levels. As students progress, they are moved to the next group.
“The programme is meant to fill the gaps. If the gaps are larger than usual, we will probably extend it for over 60 days. Otherwise the same module will continue,” explained Ashvini Ranjan, managing trustee of Pratham Mysore.
The programme will enable children, especially those who aren’t yet at the level of reading basic text fluently (at least with text up to class 2 level of difficulty) with comprehension and performing basic operations in maths.
For classes 1 and 2, the Nali Kali programme too has been revamped to ensure children are taught matter from previous grades which they missed out on due to the pandemic.