Students in Nagaland lag behind in key subjects, finds Parakh survey

KOHIMA — Students in Nagaland are performing below the national average in several core subjects, including Mathematics, Social Science and Science, according to the Parakh Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 report released by NCERT.

The survey, conducted by PARAKH under the Ministry of Education, assessed over 22,000 students across 1,053 schools in the state to assess baseline competencies at the end of the Foundational, Preparatory and Middle stages for Grades 3, 6, and 9, respectively.

The survey covered 6,477 Grade 3 students from 344 schools; 7,004 Grade 6 students from 343 schools; and 8,739 Grade 9 students from 366 schools. A total of 3,335 teachers participated in the assessment.

Grade 3: Foundational Stage

At the Grade 3 level, the average performance of students in Nagaland was 63% in Language (1% below the national average) and 57% in Mathematics (3% below the national average).

Gender-wise, boys scored 1% above the national average in Language, while girls scored 2% below. In Mathematics, boys were 2% below the national average and girls 4% below.

Rural students scored 3% lower than the national average in Language and 5% lower in Mathematics. Urban students performed comparatively better, with 4% higher scores in Language and 1% lower in Mathematics than the national average.

By school type, state government schools recorded scores 5% below the national average in Language and 6% below in Mathematics. Private schools performed better in Language (5% above national average) but 1% lower in Mathematics. Central government schools fared poorly across both subjects, scoring 5% below in Language and 7% below in Mathematics.

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Grade 6: Preparatory Stage

Students in Grade 6 continued to perform below national benchmarks, with average scores of 56% in Language (1% below), 38% in Mathematics (8% below), and 47% in “The World Around Us” (2% below).

Both boys and girls scored 1% below the national average in Language. In Mathematics, boys were 9% and girls 8% below the national average. In “The World Around Us”, both genders scored 2% below.

In both rural and urban schools, the performance gap remained consistent, with scores 1% lower in Language, 8% lower in Mathematics, and 2% lower in “The World Around Us”.

State government schools performed 7% below the national average in Language, 11% in Mathematics, and 8% in “The World Around Us”. Private schools showed stronger results in Language (6% above) and “The World Around Us” (3% above), but were 6% below in Mathematics. Central government schools scored 8% below the national average across all three subjects.

Grade 9: Middle Stage

Grade 9 students in Nagaland scored higher than the national average in Language but continued to underperform in other subjects. The average Language score was 58%, 4% above the national average. Mathematics stood at 30% (7% below), Science at 37% (3% below), and Social Science at 39% (1% below).

In Language, boys scored 4% and girls 3% above the national average. However, in Mathematics, both boys and girls were 6% below. In Science, both genders were 3% below, and in Social Science, girls were 2% below, while boys were on par with the national average.

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Among rural students, Language scores were 4% above the national average, but Mathematics was 6% lower, Science 3% lower, and Social Science 1% lower. Urban students were 2% above in Language but scored 8% lower in Mathematics, 4% lower in Science, and 1% lower in Social Science.

State government school students in this grade level scored 1% above the national average in Language but underperformed in Mathematics (5% below), Science (4% below), and Social Science (2% below).

Private school students scored 6% higher in Language, matched the national average in Social Science, but were 7% and 3% below in Mathematics and Science respectively.

Central government schools showed the widest gaps, with students scoring between 7% and 11% below the national averages across all subjects.

The report did not include any government-aided schools in the sampling, and no performance data was available for this category.