Taking yet another cue from the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi, the Punjab government is now gearing up to launch learning enhancement programme, ‘Mission Samarth’, in government schools of the state, The Indian Express has learnt.
A senior official from the education department said that ‘Mission Samarth’ is all set to launch by October-end and would aim to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy skills of children from classes 3 to 8.
Under Mission Samarth, teachers will identify ‘weak’ children through baseline tests and categorize them in two categories — ‘Level 1 and Level 2’. The students will be given special classes and study material to bring them at par with required learning levels according to their age and standard. The project, officials said, will focus on English, Mathematics and Punjabi.
A similar project, titled ‘Mission Buniyaad’, is already running in Delhi for students of class 3 to 8, since 2018.
Speaking to The Indian Express, an official said, ‘It is not for the first time that such baseline tests would be conducted and weak students would be given special focus. Earlier also similar exercise was undertaken under the ‘Parho Punjab, Parhao Punjab’ project, during the previous government. But this time, the entire exercise has been further refined to ensure no student is left out. Special learning material will be provided to teachers to help them focus on students who need extra coaching.’
The official said that teachers from primary and upper-primary sections have already been trained on how to conduct baseline tests under Mission Samarth and the project will be launched soon. ‘The tentative date for launch was October 21, which may be postponed to the month-end for now. It will be a two-month project and students will get extra coaching till December and will be tested again,’ said the senior official.
‘Several studies and surveys, including ASER and NAS, suggest that a large number of children in Punjab still cannot read basic text nor do simple calculations. The aim is to identify such children and provide them support and learning environment to bring them at par with required learning levels. Teams from State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) have prepared special learning material which will reach schools soon.
The project is the brainchild of Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains and is inspired from Delhi’s Project Buniyaad,’ the official added.
