NGOs launch all-India campaign to bridge increased learning gaps during Covid-19

By A Representative
Even as launching a new campaign, Mission 3-5-8, for “activating” the collapsed education system in across India amidst Covid-19 crisis, a group of civil society organizations regretted that there is an urgent need to bridge learning gaps that have come about between privileged and underprivileged sections of people during the pandemic.
Pointing out that structural imbalances between rural and urban areas are also having “critical impact on children’s education”, the campaign has been jointly launched by NGOs from Odisha (Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha and Mahila Shramajeebee Mancha), UP (Sonbhadra Vikas Sangathan), Bihar (Jan Adhikar Kendra), Chhattisgardh (Dalit Adivasi Manch), and Delhi (Ideal Youth, Health and Welfare Society.
Citing Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER), a campaign statement said, only 16% of children in Class 1 in 26 surveyed rural districts can read the text at the prescribed level, while 40% cannot even recognize letters. In states like Delhi, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand, more than 40% of households have internet access, but it is less than 20% in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
As for Odisha, the statement cited the Economic Survey 2018-19 to say that out of a total 51,311 villages, about 11,000 villages (more than 20%) do not have mobile connectivity. Odisha has just 28.22 internet subscribers for a population of 100, compared to the national average of 38.02.
Manoj Samantaray, involved in the research study on the students’ learning outcome assessment in Odisha, said, given this framework, “Online education can supplement towards bridging the learning gap, but it cannot replace the classroom, because one to one interactions among peers and teachers is very important for learning.”

The “Dr” debate masks a larger crisis in allied-health education

By Dr P K Gupta* India’s allied-health professions have long operated in a fragmented landscape of universities, hospitals, State authorities and private institutions, each with its own nomenclature, curriculum and standards. The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021 was meant to correct this by creating a unified national framework for education, professional regulation and institutional recognition. Few dispute the need for such oversight. The real question is whether standardisation is quietly becoming synonymous with longer courses, additional internships and new professional titles—changes that risk masking deeper gaps in clinical training, institutional capacity and affordability.

Vande Mataram and the politics of distraction: When patriotism replaces performance

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan There is an old saying: “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” Samuel Johnson was not criticising love for one’s country; he was warning against those who weaponise patriotic symbolism to escape accountability. In India today, that warning feels uncomfortably relevant.

Pilgrimage or pollution? The waste crisis of Indian faith

By Raj Kumar Sinha* In today's times, there are certain issues that are constantly talked about and discussed, yet no visible impact seems to be made. Beyond water, soil, and pollution, one crisis that continues to be overlooked is waste. Like other life-threatening problems, waste too is gradually moving toward burying and obliterating us. After the Kanwar Yatra in Haridwar, approximately 8,000 tonnes of waste were left behind on the riverbanks, including bottles filled with urine.

Counterview

Search This Blog