BENGALURU: In order to assess the effectiveness of the Kalika Chetarike programme as well as the level of learning in government school students, the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) carried out the first ever State Learning Achievement Survey (SAS).
The survey was conducted by the Karnataka School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Council (KSQAAC) under the umbrella of KSEAB on January 17 and 18. Speaking to TNIE, KSEAB director Gopalakrishna HN said that the aim of the survey is to understand the learning outcome and achievements of students over the last few years as well as the effectiveness of the Kalika Chetarike (learning recovery) programme which was introduced by the Department of School Education and Literacy in early 2022 to bridge the learning gap during the pandemic.
“We will be assessing the answers given by students to determine their level of learning. This will take around 20 days, following which we will submit a report on our findings by March. While it is too early to give a proper assessment on what the learning outcomes are, the survey will determine whether there is a need to continue the Kalika Chetarike programme as well as what other measures need to be taken for students to help them improve,” he said.
Interestingly, KSQAAC is also undertaking a comparative study on students to assess how learning outcomes have improved in the last few years. Director Gopalakrishna mentioned that a similar survey had taken place between 2018 and 2019 to assess students from classes 4 and 5.
2.11 LAKH STUDENTS SURVEYED
The survey was undertaken in 3,308 selected government schools across the state. Students from Classes 3, 5, 8, 9 and 10 were assessed on their language and numeracy skills. Students from Classes 8, 9 and 10 were also assessed based on other subjects as well. As many as 2.11 lakh students took part in the survey wherein they were made to answer both multiple-choice questions (MCQs) or long form questions based on their schoolwork.