MUMBAI: With the nationwide survey of students’ learning outcome in the online mode getting a good response by way of students attendance on Friday, schools want the state to make physical presence in classrooms mandatory when educational institutes reopen after Diwali.
The National Achievement Survey (NAS) to assess competencies of students of class 3,5,8 and 10 saw students flocking to their respective schools in large numbers.
The ministry of education had given the mandate to schools to ensure 100% attendance depending on class selected for the survey. Of total students, a random chit was drawn to get a strength of 30. These children then the survey in the form of a 90 to 120 minutes test.
“As attendance was mandatory, all class 3 and 10 students, barring those outside the city, attended school,” said the principal of a private school in Mahim. When schools reopened for classes 8-10 last month, the response was poor as parental consent was mandatory. “The state should make attendance in physical schools compulsory. The hybrid mode ---online and offline—is not working and children are losing out on learning,” said the principal.
Five sets of question-answer booklets were provided to schools. Each student had to answer questions from two subjects (Maths, Science, Social Science, Language). Students moved around in masks.
Principals said that class 3 and 5 students were the happiest to be back to school. “Those who were not selected for the test and had to return were sad-faced. They kept asking when physical school will reopen,” said the principal of a school in Bandra.
Over 38 lakh students in 733 districts in the country took the survey. In Maharashtra, 7,330 schools and 2.35 lakh students participated in the survey. Across MMR, over 30,000 students of 950 schools were part of the survey.
