The Delhi Commission For Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), in a report, has recommended that schools run by the national capital's civic bodies should focus on strengthening foundational learning skills among children.
The case study on Mission Buniyaad -- the Delhi government's initiative, launched in 2018, for improving learning skills among students of schools run by it and municipal corporations -- was carried out in the northeast district of the national capital and 30 schools were selected for sampling purpose.
The DCPCR report titled 'Mission Buniyaad: A Case Study' said the Delhi government's drive has led to a 20 per cent increase in the number of students between class three and five who can solve arithmetic division problems.
There has been a 12 per cent increase (between pre-test and post-test) in the number of students between class three and five who can read a story in Hindi, and a 15 per cent increase in children of class six to class nine who can read 'advance story' in Hindi, it said.
Even though the learning outcomes of girls and boys in the northeast district are almost on par with each other, boys have shown slightly more improvement than girls in cohorts, classes three to five and classes six to nine, the study said.
All stakeholders of boys' schools were more aware of the purpose of Mission Buniyaad and its objectives and had attended a greater number of training, it said, adding that in all, the mission has been successful in enabling students to read and solve basic maths.
This opens the possibility of the children being able to understand other subjects such as science and social science more effectively, it said.
Since nearly 90 per cent of students in class six of schools run by the Delhi government come from civic bodies-run schools, the report stressed that such schools should focus on strengthening foundational learning skills.
Although the three municipal corporations of Delhi too implemented 'Mission Buniyaad' in their schools last summer, the progress of children was not tracked regularly and consistently, the study said.
It recommended that a structured approach of Mission Buniyaad be followed with students of classes three to five in all schools of three municipal corporations and the Directorate of Education.
The study also highlighted how there is a need to focus on building early literacy and numeracy abilities in students so that they are able to access grade-level texts as well as learning materials in all subjects in subsequent years.
It should become a part of regular teaching and learning in early grades, the report said, adding students who are unable to progress beyond beginner level after intervention must be assessed for learning disabilities.
"Moreover, their attendance must also be tracked and improved in cases of prolonged absenteeism," it said and also stressed on the need to strengthen the ecosystem around the girls' schools -- assuring that all stakeholders are aware of their roles in enabling student outcomes, and play an active part in ensuring the same.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who released the report, said the AAP government had taken several initiatives for improving education scenario of Delhi and Mission Buniyaad was one of them.
"Earlier, if there were 30 students in a class who could not read or decipher the text from their books, after Mission Buniyaad, that number has gone down to 15. But we have a long way to go from here," he said.
Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, also highlighted how a sudden rush to finish the syllabus hampers the students' learning process.
"I have come across students who can copy everything down from the blackboard as written by their teacher, but when it comes to reading it or understand as to what he/she has actually written, they can't do it.
"We have achieved, 96 per cent results in board exams, built good infrastructure, and other facilities, but our focus is also on solidifying the learning foundation of our students," the deputy chief minister said.
DCPCR Chairman Ramesh Negi praised the Delhi government for ensuring that the children from the deprived sections of society are get proper guidance in study.
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