This story is from March 28, 2018

Pune below average, while Sindhudurg tops in Maharashtra

Pune below average, while Sindhudurg tops in Maharashtra
PUNE: The city, which takes pride in being a “hub of education”, needs to work on the performance of its government and government-aided schools. The 2017 National Achievement Survey (NAS) report shows within Maharashtra, Pune’s performance has been below average.
While Sindhudurg tops the list with highest marks in the Maharashtra, Mumbai and Vidarbha region have the lowest credentials when it comes to a basic understanding of age-appropriate learning outcomes among school students.

The survey — conducted in government and government-aided schools — tested more than 1 lakh students of Classes III, V and VIII in Maharashtra alone. Across the country, the learning levels of roughly 22 lakh school students were assessed in mathematics, languages, sciences and social sciences.
Vasant Kalpande, an educationist and the former state board chairperson, says the “ingrained culture of education” helped districts like Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg shine. “The socio-cultural set-ups of Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri are different. There is more awareness among students and parents in these districts. They also have fewer cheating cases in board exams. As a result, teachers too teach with sincerity and the learning outcomes are better in these districts,” said Kalpande.
Pune’s poor performance, however, baffles him. “Traditionally, Pune has been an educational hub. Students from across Maharashtra come to Pune to study after Class X. Officials must analyse the results and take measures to improve the situation,” he says.
Heramb Kulkarni, another education activist, believes there is a need to introspect on the Pragat Shaikshanik Maharashtra scheme — a campaign to improve learning outcomes by the state government — because the NAS report contradicts the government’s claims of quality education in state schools. “There could be many reasons for Pune’s performance. First, Pune district has a large rural belt that includes Bhor and Velhe taluka. These are tribal areas where the quality of education is not good. Second, political influence and teacher unions are strong here. Teachers feel they can’t be touched even if they don’t perform,” says Kulkarni.
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