HYDERABAD: The recently released Parakh Rashtriya Sarvekshan Report 2024 by the Ministry of Education has raised serious concerns over students’ poor grasp of fundamental numerical skills. Alarmingly, 55% of class 3 students across India are unable to arrange numbers up to 99 in ascending or descending order. Only 53% of Class 6 students know multiplication tables up to 10.
Experts highlight that mathematics continues to be perceived as one of the most difficult subjects by students. This stereotype must be challenged. One of the key issues, especially in government schools, is the lack of adequate teaching staff at the primary level.
According to the Sarvekshan 2024 report, around 21.15 lakh students from classes 3, 6, and 9 were assessed across 74,229 schools in December 2024. The findings revealed that many students, especially in government schools, struggled with even basic arithmetic like counting, addition, and subtraction.
In Telangana, the assessment was conducted across 3,342 schools in all 33 districts. The state ranked 26th for both class 3 and class 6, and 17th for Class 9. Within the state, Jangaon stood as high performing state while lowest performance was recorded in Wanaparthy.
Ravi Raj, a mathematics teacher at Mandal Parishad Upper Primary School (MPUPS), Admapur, Narsapur mandal, said, “Students don’t know basic counting. They mostly learn by rote. Ideally, they should learn numbers and basic addition in class 2, but we still find class 6 students struggling with simple counting.”
R Sravanthi, a mathematics teacher from a private school in Secunderabad, added, “Regardless of whether it’s CBSE, SSC, or any other board, while textbooks are being standardised, no real efforts are being made to ensure knowledge retention. The major challenge in maths education is rote learning. Many students in higher classes still lack basic concepts.”
M Ravinder, a government school mathematics teacher in Nallakunta, said, “Maths is inherently challenging to teach because of the phobia many students have. In government schools, especially at the primary level, staff shortages are common. Teachers are often burdened with administrative tasks and unable to focus on foundational teaching.”