REALITY CHECK: Shift focus from pass percentage to foundational stage

Last month, the JK Board of School Education (BOSE) announced the result of class 10th and 12th examinations and scores of students from government-run schools were figuring in the merit list.

Following the announcement of the result by the JKBOSE, the School Education Department (SED) celebrated the success of the students and organised several functions in various schools to felicitate the meritorious students and also took the credit of the success of these students.

Top officers from the department visited many schools and residences of the students to honour the students.

The performance of the government school students in the class 10th and 12th examination was in complete contrast with the performance of the elementary level students in the government schools.

Just three months before the declaration of the class 10th and 12th results, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)-2024 released on January 28 of 2025 came up with comprehensive insights into the educational landscape of Jammu and Kashmir while highlighting the gaps in learning outcomes of the students.

The survey depicted a grim picture of the education sector in terms of the learning abilities of the students.

ASER 2024 pointed out that 21.7 percent can read letters but not words while 31.5 percent can read words but not class 1st primary level text or higher.

It also pointed out that 26.4 percent students in class 3rd can read class 1st level text but not class 2nd primary level text and only 16.6 percent students can read class 2nd primary level text.

The national survey also pointed out that only 48.5 percent students of class 3rd can recognise numbers up to 99 but cannot do subtraction while 27.4 percent can do subtraction but cannot do division and only nine percent students can do division.

The ASER-2024 reported that while learning levels across India were showing significant improvement, the situation in J&K presents a contrasting trend. It reported that the region experienced a learning loss of 2.3 percentage points in reading and 2.1 percentage points in Arithmetic.

Going by the findings of the ASER-2024 which is recognised at National level, there is a huge gap in the learning level ability among the students at elementary level.

Contrary to the findings of the ASER survey, the JKBOSE results presented a rosy picture of the academic standards of the government schools as scores of students were figuring in the merit list of class 12th results while some students from class 10th were also considered among the top performers.

Over the last few years, it has been observed that the government school students figuring in the merit list are those who migrate from private schools to government-run-schools after qualifying their class 8th or class 10th exams.

The shift is mostly attributed to the fact that these students join private coaching classes, mostly the franchise of outside coaching centres, operating in various parts of the valley.

The students, after shifting to government schools, manage their attendance in the schools while attending regular classes in the private coaching centres throughout the academic session.

This dummy admission process is handled carefully by the concerned government schools as there is no bio metric attendance system for the students in government schools. Also, its proves beneficial for the schools as well in terms of getting good pass percentage of students in class 10th and 12th.

While the department sells the rosy picture of the board results, the core issue remains out of focus- strengthening the foundational stage of students in government schools.

The poor learning outcomes puts a spotlight on the District Institute of Education and Trainings (DIETs) which get a whopping amount of funds for the purpose of teacher training. But given the ground situation, it seems the funds are going down the drain without any accountability in DIETs. Because for the past many years, there are no signs of improvement in the learning levels of the students.

DIETs are established in each district to enhance teacher training and improve educational outcomes. But on ground there has been no improvement in schools which raises questions over the supervision of the department on funds utilised on training.

It seems that the department is more concerned about the percentage achieved in secondary and senior secondary board exams instead of making its foundational stage more stronger by focusing on core issues-which have otherwise taken a back seat.

Contrary to claims of the department that focus was given on strengthening the government run schools, the Ministry of Education has revealed that the enrollment of students was less in the government schools despite being on the higher side as compared to the number of other private schools.

As per the MoE statistics, out of total schools in J&K, the government-run schools comprise 77.32 percent. But the matter of concern is that only 54.06 percent of the students are enrolled in these government-run schools.

The MoE has pointed out that the enrolment in private schools is higher in comparison to government schools.

These revelations have also flattened the government claims that the enrollment was increasing in the government schools.

Now coming to the point, it is high time for the government to shift its focus from pass percentage achieved in Board exams to strengthening the foundational stage-primary to elementary level schools.

How long the department will continue to celebrate the success of the students who actually have migrated from the private schools.

The department should realise that the real achievement is in improving learning outcomes of students in primary and upper primary schools rather than celebrating pass percentage achieved in Board exams.

The government should prioritise the foundational stage over percentage and also make teachers accountable as crores of rupees is being pumped from the ministry of Education for training purposes, which ultimately is aimed at improving academic standards in elementary level schools.

This is the high time that the academic standards in schools up to elementary level schools reflect the actual picture of the government education sector rather than the pass percentage achieved in the JKBOSE exams. Hope the education department wakes up to reality before it is too late to act.