HYDERABAD: Fifty-five per cent of Class III students in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are not up to the mark in reading Telugu, the Foundational Learning Study (FLS) 2022 conducted by the Union government and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) revealed.
They lack the basic knowledge and skills, and generally cannot complete the most basic tasks, the report observed. In the below-average category, around 24 per cent of the students were able to read up to eight words in a minute, while approximately 31 per cent could read only up to 26 words a minute. Only a meagre nine per cent of students could read 51 or above Telugu words in a minute.
As part of the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN) Bharat, launched by the Ministry of Education, a large-scale FLS was undertaken by NCERT in March 2022. The second edition of the study, including the assessment of students in 20 languages across the nation, was released recently.
Approximately 1,595 students, including 49 per cent boys and 51 per cent girls, studying in 183 government (40 per cent), government-aided (39 per cent), private (18 per cent) and Central government (three per cent) schools were covered in Telangana and AP to study the oral reading fluency with reading comprehension in Telugu.
As many as 48 per cent of the students belonged to other backward classes (OBC), 23 per cent to Scheduled Caste (SC), 16 per cent to Scheduled Tribe (ST) and 13 per cent to other social groups.
The study revealed that 19 per cent of children could not even read a single word correctly in a minute, while 14 per cent of students could read 21-25 and 26-30 words. On an average, boys could read 24 words, while girls could read 25 words correctly in a minute.
In another test, Telugu reading comprehension questions were also asked. It was found that on an average children, both girls and boys, could answer only three questions. Students were also assessed on foundational numeracy which included number identification & comparison, number operation, multiplication and division facts, measurement, fractions, patterns & data handling.
According to the results, 11 per cent of students in Telangana lacked basic knowledge, whereas 38 per cent have limited knowledge & skills. As many as 40 per cent of the students meet minimum global proficiency standards.