CHENNAI: The school education department is set to conduct bridge courses, with basic numeracy and literacy, for students in Classes 4 and 5 who are lacking in the basic concepts. The courses will commence from the second term for government and government-aided schools.
This comes after a State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) assessment that found few students of Classes 4 and 5 were in the learning stage of Class 1 children. "Due to the lockdown, there is a learning gap among students. Some students in classes 4 and 5 are struggling to read and do basic calculations," said a communique by the elementary education director to the district and elementary education officers.
All elementary and middle school teachers must be instructed to conduct the daily courses for 30 minutes to 1 hour, said, officials. About 10 to 15% of students have been identified, at present. Classes will be conducted with help from the SCERT which has prepared study material. Meanwhile, the basic numeracy and literacy scheme (Ennum Ezhuththum scheme) is already being implemented for Classes 1 to 3 and aims to achieve its goal by 2025.
According to officials, the SCERT assessment had been conducted through Tamil Nadu School Education Department (TNSED) mobile application. The department conducted first-term examinations for Class 4 and 5 students with a common question paper. Meanwhile, this had also raised concerns among teachers then as they felt the provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP) were being implemented in the state.