Kerala school students perform badly, finds nationwide survey on learning outcomes

New Delhi: The standard of Maths and science subjects among school children in Kerala is poor, states the National Achievement Survey (NAS), 2021, which is a nation-wide sample survey of learning achievements.

The standard of Kerala students is way behind the national average in many subjects. States like Punjab and Rajasthan have fared better than Kerala in the quality of teaching, the NAS report states.

What all were assessed

The latest survey assessed the standard of students in classes 3, 5, 8 and 10.

In the survey, the learning standard of languages, Maths and Environmental Studies in class 3 were assessed. Meanwhile, in class 8, the quality of learning in subjects like languages, Maths, Science and Social Science was evaluated. Besides these, the standard of first language, Maths, Science, Social Science and English in class 10 too was assessed in the nationwide survey.

How Kerala fares
The performance of class 3 is comparatively better in Kerala.

The national average of Maths and Environmental Sciences in class 5 is 284 points out of 500. In these subjects, Kerala scored an average of 279 and 283 respectively. Meanwhile, Punjab (310), Rajasthan (304) and West Bengal (292) scored more than Kerala.

The national average of Maths and Science in class 8 is 255. Kerala has scored an average of 240 and 250 respectively for these subjects. However, with 252 against the national average of 250, Kerala excels is Science subjects in class 8.

In class 10, Kerala is way ahead than the national average for subjects like English, first language (Malayalam) and Social Science. If the national average is 260 for first language, in Kerala it is 278. For Social Science, the national average is 231. Meanwhile, in Kerala, it is 239. Kerala has scored 300 against the national average of 277 for English in class ten.

But, Kerala struggles with just 210 points for class-10 Maths against the national average of 220. The national average for Science is 206; for Kerala it is 208.

Only central syllabus reckoned
The sample survey was conducted on 12 November, 2021, based on the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) syllabus. Around 34.01 lakh students from across the country took part in this survey. In all, 85,566 school students from Kerala were part of it. However, criticisms have been raised against the findings in the survey as it considered only the NCERT syllabus.

Many states complain that they have fared poorly in the survey as the regional syllabuses weren’t considered. The Union Ministry of Education has instructed that the concerned authorities should make appropriate interventions and follow–ups based on the findings in the survey.