Now, progress of students a mouse-click away

Mumbai: In a bid to improve Maharashtra’s ranking and academic performance, students in state board schools will be evaluated based on individual subjects. The state school education department has set up Maharasthra Shikshan Samruddhe Kendra (MSSK) in Pune, a centre that will track the academic progress of students at a click of a mouse.

“The aim is to get Maharashtra to rank among the top in terms of educational standards at various surveys conducted by the Union Ministry of Education. A committee has also been formed in each district to work at the grassroots level, and will develop a plan for the progress of that district,” said Kailash Pagare, state project director, Samagra Shiksha, Maharashtra.

The MSSK will work on a technology-driven model of data analysis to enhance the standard of education in government and aided schools. The aim is to get 60% of students at the ‘advanced’ and ‘proficiency’ levels based on National Achievement Survey (NAS) parameters.

It will manage the data collected from all schools on a regular basis, and targeted efforts will be made to improve the learning outcomes of students in grades I to VII. The government envisions having real-time performance reports of each district, school and student, said Pagare.

The state government has set up a district-wise Project Management Unit (PMU) to study the report of NAS. The collector is the chairman of this committee, which includes members of UNICEF, the World Bank, and expert teachers. This committee will prepare a report on the educational progress of that district, and accordingly, a development plan for the educational progress of each district will be prepared.

“Various software has been developed in this centre with the help of NCERT, through which the monthly study report of the students can be obtained and the students will be given advanced education by making necessary improvements,” Pagare said.

In May, the results of NAS 2021 threw up some shocking results for Maharashtra. According to the survey, 27% of children in class 8 and 33% of students in class 10 scored ‘below basic’ levels across subjects. The survey further showed that more than 50% of students in classes 3 and 5 could perform at basic or below the basic level in the assessment of various subjects for the survey. The number of such students went up to over 70% in classes 8 and 10.