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Results from the 65-country PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment, which assessed 15-year-olds in mathematics, reading and science) were released yesterday. Asian cities and countries (Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, S. Korea) ‘dethroned’ Finland from the top of the comparative league table, and the internet has been abuzz with comments, analyses, doomsday scenarios. Going by the social media, anyone with access to a keyboard and a view on education in India appears to have an opinion – generally that our education system should make itself accountable through participation in such academic tests. Here’s something to put this in context.
So apparently 'everyone' is bothered about PISA results and the fact that India did not participate in the study this time around (In the previous round a few years ago, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh participated, finishing nearly at the bottom of the league table). But the moment you go beyond social media into the actual world where education is practiced, you’re no longer sure how far this is true.
Those who can make a real difference seem unbothered, impervious - teachers teaching in government schools, trainers / faculty in DIETs (District Institutes of Education and Training), CRC-BRC (Cluster and Block Resource Centre) personnel, SMC (School Management Committees that include parents and community) representatives, directors and staff of various state level institutions, personnel in various departments related to education, decision makers at MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Development), members of standing parliamentary committees. It's others who are not really in a position to make a difference directly – donors, NGO members, FB commentators, industry, VCs investing in education – who seem very engaged with PISA and whatever it might be showing.
We need to get real on this. When I began work in 1986 in Eklavya, we found that most students of class 6 were unable to read (which is in fact why Eklavya was compelled to begin work in primary language learning and numeracy). In 2000 I went schools in Nagaland where the teacher neatly recorded in red ink the marks of most students, showing that they were 'failing' - but did nothing about it. Pratham finds that even areas where it had its Read India successes are again in need of inputs on literacy. NCERT's survey shows low levels of learning across India. Education Initiatives' research has shown the same. In lakhs of classrooms across the country, teachers - some of whom use CCE (Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation) mandated under the Right to Education - know that their children do not know what they should, and that their learning levels are indeed pathetic. In September 2013, a small sample survey of a district in UP by our team, IgnusERG, showed that around 60% of students in class 10 were actually at a level between class 4-6.
The point? We keep on mounting 'evidence' that students are not learning. It doesn't seem to have any effect. Everybody already knows it, has known it for a very long time, and has chosen not to be affected by it. Adding another item to this knowledge, such as PISA, is unlikely to break this and generate some sudden commitment to make better learning come about. This is because, in our set up, Evidence is not considered a reason to take any particular action. The reasons for taking specific actions are related to causes other than facts and evidence. I've highlighted this in a recent blog entry so I'll just mention here what is more likely to work:
1. Re-design the curriculum to include the knowledges of the peoples whose children attend our schools - only when they are truly represented in education will they belong, and flourish.
2. Help teachers move beyond the one-size-fits-all approach they are compelled to take, which ensures that they will not succeed and leads them to giving up, and slowly become persons who are only 'passing time' in schools. Enable them to experience success, to make a difference, and to feel valued (currently, they are far from this).
3. Enable stakeholders such as parents and communities to understand the real stake they have (which goes beyond 'English medium' schools that might help their children finally get jobs), and to exercise this stake through the SMCs and other mechanisms now available.
4. Capacitate those in the system to perceive how they are strengthened if teachers and children succeed. At present the general feeling seems to be that ‘if anyone else succeeds, it has to be at our cost’. How can we create a system where everyone celebrates each other's success?
My advice to friends excited about PISA (which is really just one more test) and thinking wistfully about when it might be implemented here is to examine the real reasons behind decisions and action taken in the Indian situation and find ways in which we can intervene where we really should.
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Subir Shukla is Principal Co-ordinator, IgnusERG, a guild of resource persons supporting teachers in government schools to improve the quality of education, especially for marginalized children. Contact: subirshukla@gmail.com
