National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021: As per media reports, around 3.8 million students from 1, 23,000 schools in 733 districts across 36 states and Union territories will participate in the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 today, on 13th November. The survey will cover government, government-aided and private schools that will help to assess the learning interruptions and new learnings during the pandemic and help to take remedial measures. The ministry of education surveys with the help of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
What is National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021?
National Achievement Survey was launched in 2001-02 and is a school-level survey, conducted by the ministry of education, which attempts to assess grade-level competencies of children. Grade-level competencies of children are assessed through the testing instruments prepared by the NCERT for each class. As per the official website, “NAS gives a system level reflection on the effectiveness of school education. Findings will help compare the performance of students across populations in order to find the desired direction for improvements.”
Importance of National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021
As per media reports, the educationists have repeatedly warned that the school closures are leaving out children, especially those in the far-flung areas of the country, without access to mainstream education. Surveys and reports have shown that digital education has remained inaccessible for a majority of the population and was less effective than classroom instruction even for those who were able to access it. Therefore, NAS 2021 may help policymakers understand the depth of the problem.
It may be the most important edition of the survey yet considering that it is being held just after the country saw prolonged school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As per the official statement, “NAS 2021 will help in the systematic understanding of the consequences that prolonged closure of schools have had on students' learning in terms of their socio-emotional and cognitive development.”
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About National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 Test?
The questions in NAS 2021 will be focused on family background, facilities at home, involvement of parents, safety and facilities in school, learning during the pandemic, and facilities for children with special needs. NAS 2021 will hold separate assessments for Classes 3,5,8 and 10. National Achievement Survey (NAS) will be conducted in language, Mathematics, and EVS for Class 3 and 5, language, mathematics, science and social science for Class 8 and language, mathematics, science, social science and English for Class 10.
The test will be conducted in 22 mediums of instruction covering Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Mizo, Odiya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Garo, Khasi, Konkani, Nepali, Bhutia, and Lepcha.
National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 Test Mode
CBSE will conduct offline tests for students in their respective schools or centres. The instrument development, testing, finalization of the test items and sampling of the schools was done by NCERT. However, the actual administration of the test in the sampled schools will be done by CBSE in collaboration with the respective states and union territories. Also, 1,500 board representatives have been appointed in the districts for monitoring overall functioning and ensuring fair conduct of the survey, according to the ministry.
Opinion of Teachers and Students Regarding National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021
Many teachers have said that the survey comes at a time when the schools are struggling to bring students back to class and get them up to speed with the usual curriculum. Teachers also expressed disappointment in not being consulted on whether they are ready to conduct such a large scale survey.
As per media reports, a section of parents in Maharashtra was reportedly concerned about sending their children, especially the younger ones, to school as the COVID-19 pandemic is still around. In some states, parents had also criticised the education department officials for forcing students to attend preparatory classes for NAS 2021 amid the pandemic.
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