Survey to be held in all the 733 districts across India
By Farooq Shah
SRINAGAR: The Central Board of School Education (CBSE) and State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Jammu and Kashmir, are set to collaborate on conducting a sample based National Achievement Survey (NAS) for classes 3, 5, 8 and 10 in J&K on November 12.
The CBSE will conduct the survey on behalf of the Education Ministry in all the 733 districts across the country.
The survey is a competency based national-level large scale assessment, conducted with an aim of providing information about the learning achievement of students to have a system level reflection on effectiveness of school education in the country.
Giving details, Director SCERT, Prof Veena Pandita, said the survey will aid educational planners, policy makers and researchers in understanding the interdependence of assessment, pedagogical process and learning outcome in improving the quality of education.
She said the prolonged school closure in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic has affected students’ learning in terms of their socio-emotional and cognitive development in more ways than one.
“NAS 2021 will help us in the systematic understanding of the consequences that prolonged closure of schools has had on students’ learning,” Prof Pandita said. “Results will help us to make out the students’ performance in different learning outcomes vis-à-vis the contextual variables.”
SCERT has issued a string of instructions in this regard to hold the survey in a methodical manner. The heads of District Institutes of Education and Trainings (DIETs) have been nominated as district nodal officers (DNOs) who, in turn, have been authorised to appoint field investigators (FIs).
The field investigators will carry out sampling of sections and students in the assigned grade as per the procedure and complete other responsibilities in association with the observers.
“The number of FI’s to be appointed has been made available on the DNO’s login on the NAS portal,” an SCERT official said. “The DNOs will issue instructions relating to the conduct of the survey, set protocols, issue training schedules and ensure mandatory reporting for duty and attending the trainings arranged by the NAS Cell, CBSE HQ/DLC.”
He said the SCERT has entrusted all the school heads of sampled schools— government as well as private— to ensure the participation of students in the survey on November 12.
“All the staff of sampled schools shall be fully Covid-vaccinated with strict instructions to abide by all the necessary protocols,” he said.
Pertinently, the SCERT on September 30 conducted a survey of classes 3, 5 and 8 aimed at identifying gaps in the students’ learning caused due the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The survey, which was conducted across all the districts of J&K UT, has acted as a dress-rehearsal for the ensuing NAS,” the official said. “Since the survey was conducted on similar lines as laid out in the NAS, the task ahead has relatively been made easy.”
To familiarise the students with the assessment format, the SCERT distributed unused question booklets of the survey among the students from time to time, he said.
The last NAS was held in 2017/2018 for assessing the competencies of children at the grade levels 3, 5, 8 and 10, however, the next round scheduled in 2020 could not be held due to the school closures.
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