‘Mission Mathematics’ plan to help improve board exam scores

The directorate of education (DoE) is set to start ‘Mission Mathematics’, a programme aiming to bolster board examination results after an analysis of the Class 10 results of government schools showed that maths was an area of concern and needed special focused academic support.

In a circular issued on Monday, the DoE said the heads of government schools were also consulted before devising the programme.

“For providing need-based academic support and to enhance mathematical learning in a more child-centric and joyful manner, Mission Mathematics is being launched in the government schools of DoE,” the circular, signed by Rita Sharma, additional director (school/exam), said.

The DoE said that special enrichment classes may be initiated on September 12.

As part of the programme, an analysis of mid-term examinations will be conducted to identify learning gaps and the needs of the current batch of students. Crucial ‘must-do’ content of class 10 mathematics, mapped through activity sheets/worksheets will be shared on a weekly basis. Students will be administered one question on a daily basis to assess and validate their learning level of students.

Classes may be conducted in batches of 20-25 students in each group. Students will be identified on the basis of their academic performance in the previous class and criteria decided by the DoE. Students who have passed after appearing for the compartment exam or students who have secured 40% or fewer marks in mathematics in class 9, students who have passed with grace marks, or other students can be inducted into these special enrichment classes on the basis of performance assessment, said the DoE.

Awadhesh Kumar Jha, principal of Sarvodaya Co-ed Vidyalaya, Rohini Sector 8, said students often found maths challenging due to which their performance gets impacted.

“The DoE wants to focus on improvement of maths performance. Within the department, we have a belief that the maths performance mirrors the board result. So, we want to put special focus on maths so that children do well,” said Jha, adding that his school will initiate special enrichment classes soon.

The DoE has also formed a zonal level mathematics committee for the implementation and monitoring of the planned activities under ‘Mission Mathematics’. The committee will report the compliance of the program every fortnight.