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SRINAGAR : A two-day workshop organised by the Educational Research and Survey Assessment (ERSA) wing of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) on Foundational Learning Study (FLS-NAS) report aimed at designing interventions based on the findings of the NCERT’s Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) survey concluded at its regional office at Bemina, here.
A total of 1008 students of Grade-3 from 112 schools across all the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir had participated in the three-day nationwide survey on 23-26 March this year.
The objective of the survey, as per a statement from the Ministry of Education, was to conduct a large-scale assessment of the foundational learning of grade 3 students to establish a baseline for the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN) Bharat mission.
The survey helped in establishing reading proficiency benchmarks for fluency with comprehension for each of the languages being assessed under the study and provided the data for sustainable development goals (SDG 4.1.1.), covering aspects of foundational literacy and numeracy.
The survey’s results were documented, and the deficiencies that were identified were forwarded to the states and UTs so that they may take appropriate corrective action.
The SCERT’s expert team, comprising Dr Nazneen, G H Reshi, Basharat Ahmad and Riyaz Ahmad Dar, held thorough sessions explaining the findings of the survey to about two dozen resource persons drawn from all 10 districts of the valley, helping them design the interventions needed to address these deficiencies, with the aid of digital presentations, survey literature distribution, and by inviting experts from outside.
Dr. Haresh Chaudhari, who is the Curriculum Coordinator, Reach To Teach, at the Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training (GCERT), said the first-of-its-kind survey provided a benchmark for language fluency.
“The extent to which someone can speak smoothly and effectively determines the fluency as ‘degree of proficiency’ in a language,” Dr Chaudhari said. “Earlier, such benchmarking was not available and now we know what kind of yardstick should be applied to gauge the proficiency of the language in young children.”
The remedial measures, Dr Chaudhari, said should focus on creating content that aids in the comprehension without confusing a child.
“Assessing oral fluency can provide information about a child’s reading level but is not a sufficient measurement of reading comprehension,” he said.
State Coordinator Samagra Shikhsha, J&K, Ajeet Sharma, while highlighting the importance of acquiring comprehension skills from a young age, said language fluency is based on comprehension abilities, which are essential for a child’s success.
“Every subject a child studies includes them, and they are essential for his or her academic success,” he said. “A child must possess strong comprehension abilities to succeed on state-mandated standardised tests.”
“The report cards offer analysis that shows the pupils’ individual and comprehensive reading and numeracy learning levels,” academic officer and FLN’s divisional coordinator, G H said. “The inference will be utilised to create classroom interventions that will be implemented throughout all districts’ schools.”
The participants, Reshi said, were familiarised with the methods for studying the report and the significance of making it available to all the UT officials at the zone and district levels including teachers.
