Based on multiple reports including Annual Status of Education Report (ASER, 2014, 2018), National Achievement Survey (NAS, 2021) etc., it is now widely accepted that children in India, and in Tamil Nadu, are in the midst of a learning crisis which show that a large percentage of children in India are lagging behind in Foundational Literacy and Numeracy skills. In a crucial step towards strengthening efforts to bridge this gap, the Ministry of Education, Government of India has conducted a large-scale nationwide Foundational Learning Study (FLS) in collaboration with the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT, 2022). The study aims to set up benchmarks for reading with comprehension in 20 Indian languages and is one of the largest one-on-one studies with a sample size of 85000+ Grade 3 students. Parallelly, Madhi Foundation conducted a study that focuses on identifying the learning levels of children in Class 1–3 in Tamil, English, and Mathematics by taking a representative sample of 3600 students from the districts of Chennai, Ariyalur, Salem, and Thoothukudi.

In this report, we will analyse Oral Reading Fluency with reading comprehension from the National Report on Benchmarking for ORF and Numeracy and compare it with Madhi’s study to understand what level students in primary classes in Tamil Nadu are currently at.

According to the FLS, it was found that around 42% of students in Tamil Nadu could only read 0–8 words correctly in Tamil in a given period of time. Only 23% met or exceeded the global minimum proficiency standard of reading at least 28 words per minute when in grade 3. The findings from Madhi’s study corroborate the FLS on foundational literacy in Tamil. We found that the average number of words/phrases that a child in Class 3 could read was 9 words per minute with a maximum of 15 words across the sample data set. This is indeed a grave situation. However, the FLS study on English presents a slightly different picture. It studies almost all the states in India where there is English medium education and provides a national picture of foundational literacy, as compared to disaggregated state-based data. The FLS found that around 55% of students meet global proficiency standards of 35–53 correctly read words per minute. However, it is important to note that this is an India-wide average which could have severe variations across states. According to the study conducted by Madhi, a class 3 student read anywhere between 3 to a maximum of 15 words per minute in English.

In numeracy, the numbers are equally stark. According to the National Report, around 29% of all students in class 3 did not even partially meet global minimum proficiency standards. Only 20% of students even met the global minimum proficiency standard in numeracy.

Despite the rather bleak picture, it is indeed a positive sign that such benchmark studies are being conducted, which gives policymakers better data and insight from which they can design and implement interventions. Such benchmarking studies provide stakeholders with essential data to identify critical areas for improvement and develop appropriate action plans, which are often contextual as well. For example, in the Madhi conducted study, we found that the medium of instruction had an impact on the performance of students in many of the tested skills.

While this study focuses on benchmarking results and standards, it would be very useful to set up process benchmarks as well. These studies can be used to assess performance objectively while also providing contextual insights; expose areas where improvement is needed in Foundational Literacy and Numeracy; identify other states/countries with processes resulting in superior performance, with a view to their adoption; and most importantly, test whether improvement programmes have been successful and cost-effective.

Reference

Annual Status of Education Report (2014),

014mainreport_1.pdf

Annual Status of Education Report (2018),
http://img.asercentre.org/docs/ASER%202018/Release%20Material/aserreport2018.pdf

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) (2022), Foundational Learning Study, National report on benchmarking for oral reading fluency with reading comprehension and numeracy,
https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/FLS/fls_orf/ORF.pdf

Ministry of Education, National Achievement Survey (2021),
https://nas.gov.in/report-card/2021

This article was written under the aegis of the Centre for Education Research in India (CERI). CERI, an initiative powered by Madhi Foundation, is a digital repository and think-tank catering to policymakers, practitioners, and academics in the education sector and the larger community, to catalyse reform in the education ecosystem in India.

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Education enables people to enhance their capability and functioning to lead a life of dignity. Tamil Nadu has focused on this crucial human development indicator since the formation of the Justice Party (political party established in 1916, in Madras presidency led by Natesa Mudaliar, which was succeeded by Dravidar Kazhagam). Post independence, consecutive governments have made Tamil Nadu one of the leading states in Human Resource Development. For instance, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education is 51.4% (All India Survey on Higher Education 2019-20) which is almost double the national average. Tamil Nadu performs well in many educational indicators, such as literacy rate, gross enrolment of girls in higher education, and gross enrolment in middle school. The state also leads the protests against standardisation of exams, for instance Tamil Nadu has vehemently opposed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test ( NEET) for admission into medical colleges and seeks exemption. Tamil Nadu takes a similar stance with respect to other educational policies which tend to commodify education.

Given this backdrop, an important question arises, why has Tamil Nadu consistently prioritised continuous innovations and reforms in the educational system, and uphold the educational aspirations of every community?

What made the difference?

Right to education is enshrined in the Dravidian ideology which emphasises education as a catalyst for social justice and equality. Ever since the formation of the Justice Party ‘education for all’ was the constant demand placed before the Madras Presidency (British colonial administrative unit comprising present day Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, some parts of Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep). In the 1930s compulsory primary education became a component of the fourteen point programme which E.V. Ramasamy (Periyar) drafted for the Justice Party. In their influential book, The Dravidian Model, published earlier this year, Vijayabaskar and Kalyanarasan observe that the Justice Party regarded education as a mode to access power. Periyar even laid a persuasive basis for democratisation of power through educational mobility. It is this vision of Periyar, one that has been channelled by subsequent Dravidian parties, which has contributed to consistent development in the education system.

Access to education as a means to claim self-respect was critical in reforming the educational system and broadening its scope to include all classes. Post-independence, when the parties of the left identified land reforms as a need for social justice, Dravidian parties pegged it on education. Land reform movement failed to redistribute resources. However, the Dravidian effort to utilise education as a means to obtain social justice proved to be a success. Evidence for this can be seen in literacy rates for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, which in Tamil Nadu is 77% as against the national average of 70% (NSSO- Periodic Labour Force Survey 2017- 2018). Continuous institutionalised interventions and innovations in affirmative action by successive governments in the state helped in generating the notion of perceiving reservation policies as a rightful entitlement among the oppressed castes unlike in other parts of the
country.

Education and nutrition take centre stage

A groundbreaking idea envisaged by the Tamil Nadu government which helped to increase school enrolment rates was the mid-day meal scheme, mooted by the Justice Party. This was the beginning of the coupling of two social endeavours, nutrition and education, in a bid to improve the overall development indicators of its citizens. This proved to be an admirable strategy, lauded by many. In 1956, when Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu K Kamaraj reintroduced the mid-day meal scheme, the erstwhile moderate enrolment increased by 10% in primary level and 7% in the case of enrolment of girl children. Two years later, the attendance in schools increased by 33% in comparison to records of previous years. K. Kamaraj learnt that poverty denied not only education, but also nutritious regular meals to children. Serious implementation of the mid-day meals scheme which were resisted in the beginning, has now become a sought- after programme across the country. While Balwadis and Anganwadis were the target at the initial stage, in Tamil Nadu the scheme was extended to primary, middle, high, and higher secondary schools in stages. A scheme which was introduced merely as a magnet to pull children into the school system, has helped Tamil Nadu fare better in other educational parameters as well. More recently, the scheme has also been extended to include breakfast for all children in Tamil Nadu’s government schools by the incumbent DMK party in 2022.

Democratising education through affirmative action

Continuous improvements in affirmative action and democratisation strengthens the education system in Tamil Nadu. “Tamil Nadu does not subscribe to a very common Macaulayian fallacy – that there exists a strict linear relationship between examination rigour/performance and later career success. It ascribes to the view that the relationship is nonlinear and that strategic affirmative action could pay off as both short-term and long-term gains.” (Bharat Ram, 2017).

The state has constantly reworked the categories of reservations as a system of affirmative action to meet the changing demands of social justice (Kalaiyarasan & Vijayabaskar, 2021). This can be seen in multiple reforms by successive chief ministers. In 1989 a new category, ‘MBC’ (Most Backward Class) was created within the ‘BC’ (Backward Class) category to ensure that backward castes within the backward quota are given recognition. MBC were allotted 20% within the overall BC reservation of 20%. In 2007, the Karunanidhi led government provided a 3.5% quota each for Muslims and Christians with the OBC quota of 30%. In 2009, Tamilnadu Arunthathiyar Act was introduced to ensure representation of the Arunathathiyars by providing a 3% sub-quota within the 18% quota for Scheduled Castes(SC). Reservations thus not only became common sense but also an accepted means towards socio-economic mobility in Tamil Nadu (Pandian, 2007). All of these interventions in affirmative action have ensured better representation of marginalised groups and access to education.

Limits to growth

Although Tamil Nadu is ahead in many educational parameters when compared to the rest of the country, there has been limits to this growth. Tamil Nadu slipped a notch below in the Performance Grading Index (2020-21) with the scores on learning outcomes being stagnant at 132 (out of 180) since 2017-18. According to the ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) 2018 report, only 10% of students in Std 3 could read a Std 2 level text, and only 26% in Std 3 could do subtraction. The National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 highlights, 54% of students in Std 3 could not read and write numbers up to 999 using place value, 58% of students in Std 5 were not able to solve simple mathematical problems. Among Std 10 students only 8% had acquired intended learning outcomes in science and maths. Foundational Learning Study 2022 conducted by NCERT (National Council for Educational Research and Training) reveals that only 12 % of students in Tamil Nadu met global proficiency standards in literacy (Tamil) and only 20% met the global proficiency standards in numeracy. All these results are worrisome.
Research studies have proved that a child that lags behind in early childhood and the foundational stage stays behind at later levels. Learning crisis will act as negative externality in the growth trajectory of the state if left unattended.

Growing shift from public to private schools, mushrooming of engineering colleges with poor outcomes, and lack of continuous teacher training and development are a few other challenges that plague the education sector in Tamil Nadu today.

Hard reality

Once a state with literacy below average, because of poor attendance from economically weaker and socially backward communities, Tamil Nadu has attained a glorious rate of literacy through reformative thinking of leaders and successful implementations of student-centred programs. Despite easy access and availability of resources, there is a continued foundational literacy and numeracy crisis in the state. Even the reservation patterns and their effect on quality results remains untested.

After emphasising the significance of education and making it more accessible, the system is now challenged with improving student learning outcomes. Tamil Nadu needs to re-envision its educational framework to be aligned with the aspirations of society. The state has overcome several hurdles in reforming the education system. With a broader strategic framework focused on improving the quality of public education, Tamil Nadu can regain its position as front runner in the education sector.

Reference

Kalaiyarasan, A., & Vijayabaskar, M. (2021). The Dravidian model: Interpreting the political economy of Tamil Nadu. Cambridge University Press.

Pandian, M. S. S. (2007). Brahmin and non-Brahmin: Genealogies of the Tamil political present. Permanent Black.

Bharat Ram (2017) ,What is so neat about Tamil Nadu’s Education Strategy, ASER Report (2018) ,Annual Status of Education Report (Rural);
https://img.asercentre.org/docs/ASER%202018/Release%20Material/aserreport2018.pdf;

Foundational Learning Survey (2022), National report on benchmarking for oral reading fluency with reading comprehension and numeracy, https://dsel.education.gov.in/sites/default/files/FLS/National/National_Report_on_Benchmarking _for_ORF_and_Numeracy.pdf;

National Achievement Survey (2021),State report card Tamil Nadu, https://nas.gov.in/download-state-report/MzM=

Performance Grading Index (2020-21), Performance Grading Index for States and Union Territories,  https://pgi.udiseplus.gov.in/PGI-State-2020-21-Brochure.pdf

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2017-2018, Annual report, https://cse.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/wp content/uploads/2019/02/Annual-Report-PLFS-2017-18_31052019.pdf;

This article was written under the aegis of the Centre for Education Research in India (CERI). CERI, an initiative powered by Madhi Foundation, is a digital repository and think-tank catering to policymakers, practitioners, and academics in the education sector and the larger community, to catalyse reform in the education ecosystem in India.

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Urmila Reghunath & Vijayalakshmi Mohan writes for The Bastion on how effective advocacy can influence public policy.

Merlia Shaukath writes for The Bastion on the importance of parents as critical stakeholders in the education system.

Aparna Shankar writes for The Bastion the means and methods by which a state can gather the required data to make evidence-based policy decisions.

Vijayalakshmi Mohan writes for The Bastion just how far we have come in supporting in-service teachers in primary schools in their continuous professional development.

In the second part of the series, Srivathsan Ramaswamy writes for The Bastion on the different ways in which the Centre and states can tackle curriculum design to benefit public school students.

In the first of a two-part series on curriculum design in India, Srivathsan Ramaswamy writes for The Bastion on why and how textbooks fail to meet the standards of ambitious education policies.

Part 2 will delve into the nuances of the lifetime human need for education, from the perspectives of equitable delivery and uniformity.

In the preceding article, we proposed that a well designed and equitably delivered education system could become a key lever towards achieving poverty alleviation. Additionally, we discussed the necessity for state actors to strategically apply decision making principles to determine the allocation of limited state resources. We also purported that the Eisenhower Matrix could be a useful tool to make such allocation decisions.

This article will examine the lifetime human need for education, from the perspectives of equitable delivery and uniformity. We had earlier discussed that the primary objective of state provided education should be to offer access to learning, such that it can augment a citizen’s overall quality of life. It can do so by providing a pathway to meaningful livelihood opportunities, as a result of the education received*. Life today is sharply different from what it was in 2004 (when children, who are 21 today, began their learning journey in LKG); technology and lifestyles are altering at a faster pace than we have encountered before. Accordingly, it is necessary to prepare children who enter the education system today for the world of work that they will encounter in 2035; the expected year for children in 1st grade today to turn eighteen.

Keeping this objective in mind, we can categorise the lifetime human need for education into the following four groups, each bearing the following features:

1. Primary Learning

Education received between the ages of 5 and 12

Here, the objective of education should be to build foundational knowledge and skills amongst children; focussing on encouraging children to use their intellect to build the hard skills of literacy, comprehension, numeracy, and the softer skills of effective communication and critical thinking.
It is necessary to deliver such education in as uniform a manner as possible to ensure that the building blocks of learning for each child remain the same. It is only when the foundation for learning is delivered in an equitable manner, that we can ensure that all children will start their lifelong journey of learning on as level a playing field as possible. Viable customisations to the learning delivery in this context could be to alter the medium of instruction, such that learning occurs in a child’s native language, however the curricular content imparted should remain the same..
Attaining mastery in foundational literacy and numeracy skills will ensure that the child will be able to learn proficiently, no matter what their future choice of subject or professional pathway will be. Learning to read to read to learn is an old adage which exemplifies this line of reasoning; mastery in foundational skills has been noted as being critical to being able to successfully function in Industry 4.0.

2. Secondary or High School Learning

Education received between the ages of 13 and 18

Here, the objective of education should be to provide young people with the opportunity to explore a variety of different subject pathways, build further technical knowledge across all segments of learning, gain meaningful career counselling and gain a deeper understanding of entrepreneurial and critical thinking.
It is necessary to deliver such types of education where the skeletal components of delivery and the access to various subject pathways are uniform. However, research has shown that there is merit in customising the finer details of the education imparted to suit local contexts, opportunities and labour market conditions.
During this period, young people should be able to meaningfully engage in planning the trajectory of their professional development; identifying where their interests lie, choosing whether they want to build traditional careers, choose vocational professions or choose entrepreneurialism** as a means to their livelihoods. This period of learning should be the building block for ascertaining the professional trajectory of one’s career path.

3. Workforce Ready Education

Education received from the age of 18 onwards, designed to make the learner workforce ready

Traditionally, such education has been in the form of university learning, vocational training or informal apprenticeships. Here, the objective of education should be to prepare people to enter the workforce, and learn the key skills which will enable them to successfully work in their chosen field meaningful, applied career counselling which can support learners in making the correct decisions related to their careers.
It is necessary to deliver such education such that the primary components of the learning should be customisable to the specific workforce needs and the primary components of career counselling should be customised to the learners needs. However, an element of uniformity should remain in imparting the core, transferable competencies needed to thrive in Industry 4.0.
During this period, people should be able to select a career trajectory that is suitable to their skill sets and interests, fits the trend of labour market demands, and allows them to learn the applied skills required to thrive in their chosen career.

4. Lifelong Learning Opportunities

Education received by adults, through their lifetime, designed to support the learner in either imbibing further knowledge to gain the necessary skills which are required to remain professionally relevant

Traditionally, such education has largely been delivered by either industry or the public sector; the former aiming to upskill their workforce and the latter aiming to reduce the rate of unemployment. Here, the objective of the education imparted should be to engage adult learners with the specific knowledge and skills they require to improve their ability to do a particular job.
It is necessary to deliver such education in a manner as contextual, customised and targeted as possible, as research has shown that most adult learners will be best motivated to learn when they can visualise the material impact that the learning will have on their daily professional growth. It is not necessary to maintain any uniformity in the service delivery of this category of learning, because there is an implicit expectation that learners will be best placed to decide what manner of learning will best suit their needs. There is however a need to maintain uniformity in providing access to opportunities for lifelong learning, particularly as research postulate that the average worker will alter their professional trajectory multiple times in Industry 4.0.

The following diagram describes the extent of uniformity or customisation that each category of lifetime education requires to ensure equitable access to learning.

 

Let us assume that due to limited resource availability, the state system cannot equitably provide access to quality education for the entire spectrum of lifetime human needs. Let us further assume that while the state cannot itself deliver the entire spectrum of education required, it can create a conducive environment through policy decisions and targeted regulation which will ensure access to the spectrum of learning and support which citizens need, in a reasonably equitable manner. For example, to ensure equitable access to Workforce Ready Learning, the state can mandate that non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) must provide universal, affordable access to credit such that learners from lower income backgrounds can also obtain the necessary support required to develop a meaningful career. It can further establish the framework against which educational institutions will be held accountable for delivery of quality education.

Given this context, how do you think each of the components of lifetime education should be categorised into an Eisenhower Matrix, contextualised for state decision making. How would you allocate resources keeping in mind the necessary urgency or importance of each of the four categories of the lifetime need for human education?

*Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) is the education goal. It aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.

**By focusing on entrepreneurial skills as a core competency, the Indian education system can also become inclusive to the needs of the informal and agricultural sector; which account for approximately 60% of national income in India and are slated to account for a larger proportion of income as production becomes increasingly automated.

“Why so serious?” asks an iconic villain, right in the middle of several intense settings in a Hollywood movie that came out not so long ago. “Let’s put a smile on that face,” he adds, and carries on with his villainy with gusto! You remember, right?

A villain – an epitome of serious, dark affairs, is inadvertently highlighting the need for lightheartedness in the midst of a raging conversation. Yes, an idea that may seem out of context, yet so relevant.
We often take things too seriously, in fact we tend to take everything seriously, don’t we? Of all those things, one stands out – work! Work forms a significant part of most of our lives. Be it an intern at a start-up or the vice president of a corporate conglomerate, we are expected to be seriously serious about work.

The seriousness we attach to our professional lives unknowingly ends up being a bane as much as a boon, and the reason why many of us have to cope with stress, or more specifically, work-related stress. This burnout is often a by-product of us undermining the importance of a crucial element in our work life – humour.

Even though humans have an inherent affinity towards humour, we often tend to neglect the impact of humour at our workplace. We do not realise how humour can potentially help individuals, teams and even organisations to define an emotionally and psychologically balanced work environment. Research has validated how laughter has the ability to release endorphins in our brain. Endorphins are chemicals, which have the ability to diminish the perception of pain or stress, in other words, the human body’s in-house “feel good pill”.

A study conducted in 2017 by Finnish and British researchers of University of Turku highlighted how social laughter resulted in positive feelings and a significantly improved release of endorphins. The results of the study point in the direction of endorphin release induced by social laughter, being an important pathway that supports formation, reinforcement, and maintenance of social bonds between humans. This social bond inevitably forms the foundation of a positive work environment leading to an improved work culture and increased productivity.

As aptly pointed out by Eric Tsytsylin in a video published by Stanford Graduate School of Business, we are “in the midst of a laughter drought”. He adds that children on an average laugh 400 times a day whereas adults above 35 years of age tend to do it just about 15 times a day. Data from various researches also suggest that people laugh significantly less on weekdays than on weekends. Somewhere between growing up, growing old and chasing our dreams, we seem to have forgotten to just laugh!

Is increased workplace stress a result of decreased workplace humour or is it the other way around? A publication by Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute suggests that the brains of depression sufferers tend to show decreased activity in the regions that are engaged while processing something humorous. In certain studies, patients being treated for depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders, associated laughter less with humour and more with communicating emotions. Contagious laughter was often identified as a mutual validation of emotions within a group and thereby supporting the notion that mutual empathy is also a shared experience.

Humour however, isn’t as easy as we think it is. Just as we say – to each his own, humour translates into different meanings for different individuals. The thin red line that separates a good joke from an offensive, incongruous passé must be something that one treads carefully. Misplaced humour at the workplace can easily transform into a disaster if delivered distastefully, be it intentional or unintentional.

The “how” of workplace humour can therefore be a tricky thing to pull off. While team members tend to admire and derive more motivation from leaders with a sense of humour, they may tend to have less respect for leaders who “try” to be funny. Humour isn’t only about laughing at a joke. It is about being authentic and genuine in your reactions to a situation. It is also about your ability to laugh at your own mistakes and take it in its stride. A disarming self-deprecating laugh at your own folly goes a long way, even more than an apology. Remember, a team that laughs together, grows together!

It’s only fair to assume that practice makes perfect and it takes practice to master humour at the workplace. But remember, we cannot practice soccer on an ice skating rink wearing sneakers. Know your strengths, know your people, know your surroundings and then, strike!

Next time you are at work, ask your colleagues, “Why so serious? Let’s put a smile on that face!” But, please don’t carve up their face with a knife like our villain. (Okay! Bad joke!).

References:
Mannin et al (2017, June).Social Laughter Triggers Endogenous Opioid Release in Humans. The Journal of Neuroscience.
Tsytsylin, Eric (2013, May). Laughter: Serious Business. Stanford Graduate School of Business. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nju6yel062Y
Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute (2010). On The Brain Vol.16 No.2. https://hms.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/HMS_OTB_Spring10_Vol16_No2.pdf