With the aim of improving the quality of education in State-run schools, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education on Wednesday entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with four NGOs.
From increasing the motivation levels among students to working towards the professional development of teachers, these organisations that have expertise in the field of education will work at the grassroots level.
For instance, to make learning mathematics and science more accessible to children, Ajay Seth, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Primary and Secondary Education, said that the Khan Academy will partner with the government in providing e-content. They will provide videos, exercises, articles and teachers tools in Kannada for the government’s Technology Assisted Learning Programme.
The department will also work with Azim Premji Foundation on systematic improvement and capacity building of the entire educational framework in the State.
Motivation levels
Another non-profit, Sikshana Foundation, will roll-out ‘Prerna’ — a programme that aims to increase motivation levels among students. On Wednesday, they also launched a mobile app that will serve as a platform for teachers and students to showcase the achievements of the school.
The fourth NGO, Pratham, will introduce their Read Karnataka programme in 13 districts with the goal of providing remedial support to children. Based on their work in three districts in the State, they found that the learning levels of children had increased after the intervention. They recorded that with timely help, the percentage of children who could complete division problems increased from 38% to 76%. Similarly, there was a 36% increase in the number of children who could read short stories (from 39% to 75%)
While three of these NGOs have already been working with the government, P.C. Jaffer, State Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, said that the department was also working towards increasing interaction among these NGOs.
Nali Kali 2.0 from next year
The State government will begin Nali Kali 2.0 from the next academic year to improve activity-based learning.
Speaking on the sidelines of a programme, Ajay Seth, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Primary and Secondary Education, said that the idea was to upgrade and make this method more relevant to schools. This method of teaching and learning has been adopted in government schools from classes 1 to 3.
