But the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government’s experiments with school education is one to watch. In many, children squat on uneven floors or torn mats.27 per cent, compared to 84.For long, economists have been arguing for investment in education. Trained government teachers did the job in school hours, They were monitored and supervised by block and cluster-level education officials. Students enrolled in Classes 3, 4 and 5 across 200 schools were randomly assigned to the TaRL model. A key part of the reason is a new method called teaching at the right level (TaRL).Scaling up such evidence-based strategies across the country would not only dramatically improve learning outcomes, it may change the face of Indian politics. They had done better than their private school counterparts in the Central Board of Secondary Education Class 12 exams for the second year running. But this is very new to government-run schools. Arithmetic skills have also shown improvement in government schools in primary grades. Can such schools ever be fixed? Is it even worth a try? The latest CBSE results came as a boost to those who have been consistently saying that government schools can be turned around. Many sceptics also point out that nowadays Delhi government schools have better pass percentages than private schools partly because private schools have mushroomed, mostly in far-flung neighbourhoods where there is less scrutiny. Teachers conduct "reading hours”.Just one example: In Haryana, 400 schools participated in an intervention implemented by the government and supported by Pratham in 2012-13. There are no desks, chairs and teachers are more often absent than present. The research shows that the TaRL model can achieve significant gains in basic learning outcomes. A well-educated workforce drives economic growth. Only 50-odd students had cracked the JEE last year. What happens in middle school therefore becomes critical.Government schools in the country don’t have a pretty image.The AAP can be legitimately criticised on many fronts, but it is tough to fault it for prioritising education, given the sorry state of basic learning across the country. This has worked not just in Delhi but in several other states.Dr Rukmini Banerji, chief executive officer of Pratham Education Foundation, one of India’s best-known educational NGOs, says the Delhi government’s decision to introduce TaRL was a "bold step” and the state government should be congratulated for making a major effort to improve the foundational skills of all children. She points out that Pratham’s work with primary school children in other states using the TaRL method has produced heartening outcomes. A special cadre of "mentor teachers” offers regular supportive supervision to other teachers.67 per cent in private schools.20 per cent at private China kitchen mats manufacturer schools.In the last decade, Pratham’s work has been rigorously evaluated by researchers affiliated with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a large scale and in collaboration with government schools. It shows reading ability has improved in India, specially in early grades in government schools.98 per cent, against 86. Survey after survey shows millions of kids in India can’t read or count properly even at the end of primary school.Students of good private schools take all this for granted.

There are remedial classes for students of Class 10 and 12; free summer camps where students can have lots of fun plus work on their weak spots; regular interactions between parents and teachers; school management committees comprised mostly of parents; and so on. But economists don’t take policy decisions. Children often arrive in middle school with a weak or non-existent foundation. What has really helped is a series of measures taken to shore up the motivation levels of students, teachers as well as parents. Students in selected schools were grouped according to their reading level and taught for an hour every day, using attractive methods and materials.It is clearly having effects beyond board results.The Delhi government spends about a quarter of its budget on education and has initiated a range of reforms in government-run schools. So does investment in education make for good politics? We don’t know for sure.At the start of this programme, only 34 per cent of students could read a simple paragraph or story (a grade 2-level competency). Politicians do. This year, 372 students of Delhi government-run schools have cleared the prestigious Joint Entrance Examination to most engineering colleges in India.Unsurprisingly, Delhi’s education minister Manish Sisodia is beaming even as critics note government schools have done better than private schools in the city earlier too. But by the end, things had changed — the number had shot up to 53 per cent for students in schools that took part in the programme, compared to 48 per cent for students in schools that did not participate.The latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) report, facilitated by the Pratham network, offers signs of hope.What explains the change? The Delhi government has ploughed in a lot of resources to improve school infrastructure and give better incentives to teachers. Teaching to curriculum doesn’t help much as not every child can cope under these circumstances..But even in absolute terms, there is improvement in government schools, and not just in Delhi. Several other states — Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal — have piloted similar initiatives. Last year, government schools notched a pass percentage of 88. But money alone doesn’t explain the improved performances.

This week, rapturous applause greeted students of these schools.In Delhi, the city’s municipal corporations run primary schools while Delhi government schools are from Classes 6 to 12. Students watch educational videos. In 2017, the pass percentage at government schools in the city stood at 88. There is enough evidence now to show that substantial gains in learning outcomes can be achieved by simply reorganising and grouping children by their learning level rather than the usual grouping by age or grade. The TaRL methodology has been usually used for younger children in other states, but it has proved very useful to circumvent challenges in Delhi government schools

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