Delhi Government's pet project 'Mission Buniyad' has become a successful initiative for the improvement of learning and reading skills among the students. This was shown by a case study done by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPRC). The study shows that there has been a 20 per cent increase in the primary grade students (Class I to V) who can solve division.
According to the case study published on Saturday by the Education and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, 25 percent increase was noticed among students of class 6th to 9th. Nearly 72 per cent of class V and 56 per cent of class VIII students in India cannot solve division.
Mission Buniyad campaign was a pet project of Delhi Government launched in 2018 and the idea behind this campaign was to make the students of classes 3rd to 9th learn to read, write and solve basic math problems who cannot do that.
"I am happy that we identified the problem and started working on the loopholes. Mission Buniyaad was the first step towards admitting this loophole in our education system. We checked the ground realities in the year 2016 , for the first time, having our teachers on board with us, who assessed where we stood in terms of quality education imparted to our children. This started off as "Chunauti" and more people got attached to this vision and it became Mission Buniyaad. This report denotes the success of our collective effort," said Sisodia while launching the case study.
The report also highlights that the substantial gains in reading proficiency of students. As per the data, a 12% increase has been observed in primary grade students who can read a story in Hindi and 15% increase in students of class 6-9th who can read an advanced level of story in Hindi.
"Earlier, if there were 30 students in a class who could not read or decipher the text from their books, after starting Mission Buniyaad, that number has gone down to 15 students. It is an achievement in itself for us that we brought about this change in a matter of three months. But we have a long way to go from here," he added.
Adding to it, he said, "I want to ask you this question. The child cannot decipher the chapters of his books, you're trying to teach him the entire curriculum, is it fair? Day by day, a student feels de-motivated to go to schools as he cannot understand what is being taught in the classrooms. The sudden rush to finish the syllabus hampers with the learning process of the students. There are students who copy down everything from the black board written by their teacher but do not understand it. We have achieved, 96% results in board exams, built good infrastructure, and other facilities, but our focus is also on solidifying the learning foundation of our students."
While DCPCR Chairperson Ramesh Negi, said, " I don't think children hailing from the deprived sections of the society lack the skills to learn and gain knowledge. It is just the proper guidance they lack to study and get educated. This is where the gaps arise, it is about the way education is imparted to these students, and the Mission Buniyaad comes here in to bridge that gap."
