Can a child in Class 1 associate words with pictures or recognise letters and sounds in the English alphabet? Can a child in Class 3 read simple maps? Would a child in Class 8 be able to fill a First Information Report (FIR) form?
These are some of the expected learning outcomes and suggested pedagogic practices developed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to define minimal learning levels, grade-wise, in elementary classes.
The Ministry of of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is mulling including a set of defined learning outcomes as part of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. Once this is done, students of all schools — government, aided and private — will have to adhere to these guidelines in measuring learning outcomes.
A document titled ‘Learning Outcomes at Elementary Stage’ has a list of grade-wise learning outcomes in Hindi, English, Urdu, Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Science and Social Science. The document states that the learning outcomes will “provide the checkpoints that are measurable in a qualitative or quantitative manner to assess the progress of a child as per the expected holistic learning for the overall development of a child.” Moreover, it is aimed at helping bridge regional disparities.
The comprehensive document also comes with specific guidelines for children with special needs such as modification of a school’s curriculum as it presents specific difficulties, additional time during tests, and more. It also puts the onus on schools and State governments to ensure that tools and aids that would help in creating a better learning atmosphere for these students are provided.
V.P. Niranjan Aradhya, fellow, Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India University, welcomed this initiative. “All these years the focus was on more quantitative aspects such as infrastructure. The attempt to focus on qualitative education is a great step forward. This document will help us understand learning levels and accordingly plan our interventions,” he said.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development is receiving comments and suggestions to the draft document till January 31, 2017.
