BHUBANESWAR: Almost one third of children in Class IV are unable to correctly count or write even two digit numbers let alone comprehending more complex arithmetic like simple division or multiplication, a study by the School and Mass Education Department has revealed.
More than 50 per cent students at Class IV level have also scored poorly on language proficiency that included simple sentence reading and comprehension, dictation, sentence making, antonyms and free writing, etc.
The Learning Assessment Study was undertaken by the SME Department to ascertain basic competence of students of Class IV in Language and Mathematics in March 2013.
The objective was to obtain an overall picture of what students in specific classes have learnt and can do.
The findings can then be used to identify gaps and address the problem areas. Students across 890 schools from all the 30 districts were evaluated on both counts of language and mathematics.
Eleven districts of Bargarh, Balangir, Gajapati, Koraput, Keonjhar, Kalahandi, Mayurbhanj, Nuapada, Nabarangpur, Sambalpur and Sonepur have performed in the range of (0.200-0.600) points, below the State average of 0.623. Overall average score of children are 49 per cent in language and 62 per cent in mathematics.
The study reveals that performance of children is better in reading but they are facing difficulty in writing.
In mathematics, the children seem to do well on identification of geometrical shapes and manage with addition upto two-digit numbers and counting two-digit numbers but struggle with multiplication, division, monetary transaction and simple word problems.
The findings assume importance as the enrolment of children in government schools have gone up substantially under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) and enactment of Right to Education Act. A large chunk of students in government schools belongs to SC, ST and minorities.
The report states, most of the children are first-generation learners and come from the lower strata which presents a unique challenges for the educational system to support the diverse needs of the students.
The study aims to find the gaps and stimulate action that is necessary to provide not only quality education but also ensure improvement in a child’s learning achievement in an equitable manner.