National Achievement Survey 2021: In Chandigarh, over half the students at basic or sub-basic level

There was almost an equal participation by government schools and private schools in the survey. A total of 106 schools, 732 teachers and 5726 students participated in the survey in Chandigarh. Of them, 51.2 per cent were boys, and 48.8 per cent were girls. A total of 91 per cent were from urban areas and 9 per cent were from rural areas.

A look at Chandigarh’s report card:

Class III performance declined

The majority of Class 3 students were just at basic and below basic level. According to the report, 53.4 per cent of students were below basic and basic level and only 46.6 per cent were at proficient and advance level. The performance of Chandigarh students in standard has fallen in all subjects by a few notches when compared to the NAS 2017 report.

In language, About 29 per cent of all the students were in ‘proficient’ category and 17 per cent were in ‘advanced’ category whereas 24 per cent were below basic criteria, and 31 per cent fell in the basic category.
In Mathematics, 36 per cent had a basic level of performance and 19 per cent were below basic. About 32 per cent were proficient and 14 per cent were advanced.

Similarly in EVS, only 38 per cent were proficient, and 11 per cent were in the advanced category, while the rest were at the basis or below basic level.

The survey also recorded responses from students about learning during the pandemic.

In Class III, about 21 per cent of students said they had no digital devices at home and 32 per cent even experienced worry, anxiety and fear during the pandemic. Only 40 per cent were happy to be at home.

Most below basic in Class V

In Class 5, 53.4 per cent were below basic and basic level while 46.6 per cent fell in the proficient and advanced category.

During the survey, 38 per cent of teachers in this category said they were overloaded with work. Here too, about 30 per cent of them had no digital devices at home and 42 per cent experienced worry, anxiety, fear due to the pandemic.

Most Class 8 students lacked digital devices during pandemic

The survey stated that about 98 per cent of students of Class 8 faced obstacles in learning due to the pandemic. About 85 per cent of the students had no digital devices at home. The survey found that 99 per cent of students in this category liked going to school, and 98 per cent said they understood what the teachers taught in the class.
However, 35 per cent of the teachers of this standard stated that they were overloaded with work.

In this class too, 52.7 per cent of students were below basic or at basic level and 47.3 per cent were in the proficient and advanced category.

51.4 % below basic and basic in Class X

In Class X, 51.4 per cent were below basic and basic level while 48.6 per cent were in the proficient or advanced category. Around 80 per cent of these students had digital devices at home and 42 per cent experienced fear and anxiety during the pandemic.

The education dept’s response to reports

The Chandigarh education department, in a statement released Thursday evening, stated, “As per scaled score, out of 500, UT Chandigarh got 1st position in class 3 with the score of 335 in language and 311 in Maths, and 2nd position in EVS with the score of 313.

In class 5, UT Chandigarh secured 1st position with the scaled score of 326 in language and 295 in Maths, and 2nd position in EVS with the score of 293.”

However, UT didn’t specify that these performances had come down according to NAS of 2017 for classes 3 and 5. It also said that the performance of Chandigarh has improved over the previous NAS for classes 8th and 10th.

“Chandigarh has secured 1st position amongst all UTs in class 8th in all the subjects. Similarly, in class 10, Chandigarh scored 290 in Modern Indian Language, 261 in Mathematics, 260 in Science, 287 in Social Science and 345 in English. The average score of UT Chandigarh is higher than the national average in all classes and subjects.
This achievement is attributed to strenuous efforts made by all officers of the Department of School Education,” it was specified.

Drop in scores for classes 3 and 5

The performance of students of class 3 and class 5 in Language, Mathematics and EVS may have been better than the national average but it has come down as compared to Chandigarh’s assessment survey report of 2017.