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The Hindu
5 days ago
- Science
- The Hindu
Ganitha-Ganaka programme extended to all govt. schools across the State
With an aim to increase interest in learning mathematics among children, the State government has decided to to extend the Ganitha-Ganaka programme, in which teachers explain basic mathematic concepts to school children through Remote Tutoring (phone calls) after school hours, to all government schools across the State for the academic year 2025-26. The State government has recently issued an order stating that about 13.51 lakh students studying in classes 3, 4, and 5 in a total of 38,548 primary and higher primary government schools across State will be beneficiaries of this programme. In the academic year 2024-25, the State government introduced the programme for students from classes 3 to 5 in 14,711 government primary schools in 93 ambitious taluks of 17 districts and about 6.99 lakh students benefitted from it. An assessment showed that the programme helped children develop an interest in learning mathematics and buoyed by this success, the government has expanded the programme to all government schools across the state this year. The programme will be implemented in collaboration with Samagra Shikshan Karnataka (SSK), Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT), Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) South Asia, Alokit and Youth Impact. Remedial teaching The State government has recently decided to scrap the Nali-Kali programme, where students from classes 1 to 3 are taught in the same classroom, due to its ineffectiveness. Annual Status of Education Report (ASER-Rural) and National Achievement Survey (NAS) data for the last five years have emphasised that students are lagging behind in learning due to this teaching method being ineffective. Ganitha-Ganaka programme is being implemented as remedial teaching for children who are lagging behind in learning. 75,000 mathematics teachers The State government has selected about 75,000 mathematics teachers for the implementation of the Ganitha-Ganaka programme and will train them. These teachers will call students on the phone and help them solve problems in mathematics. All these calls are recorded and all charges reimbursed to teachers by the government. Each teacher will get ₹800 towards this and the government has allocated a total grant of ₹6 crore for this programme.
The Hindu
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Karnataka plans to prescribe NCERT textbooks from class 1
The State government is planning to prescribe National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) textbooks from Class 1 to all students of State board schools. Presently, NCERT textbooks are prescribed to students in high school. Following a representation by Government Primary School Teachers' Association demanding the same, Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh recently held a meeting with the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) and office bearers of the association, where the government has in-principle accepted this, sources said. The government will scrap the existing Nali-Kali programme, a multi-class teaching programme where students from classes 1, 2 and 3 are taught by a single teacher in one classroom, currently practiced only in government and aided schools. Instead these students will be separated into different classes, assign them different teachers and teach them NCERT textbooks. 'The Nali-Kali scheme is not working properly in the State. Therefore, there is a discussion at the government level regarding scrapping it and implementing NCERT textbooks from Class 1 in all state curriculum schools, including government, aided and private schools across the state. However, the government will take a final decision in this regard,' said K.V. Trilok Chandra, Commissioner of Public Instruction. Raising issues with the Nali-Kali programme Government Primary School Teachers' Association had petitioned the state government to abolish the same and prescribe NCERT textbooks, to ensure quality education from primary classes itself, even in government and aided schools. 'The Nali-Kali system has failed in primary education, and the quality of learning of students is going down. Due to this, the number of children in government schools is decreasing every year. In this context, we have requested the government to abandon the Nali-Kali system and prescribe NCERT textbooks from class 1. The NCERT curriculum will help improve the learning competency levels of children. The government has responded positively to our request,' said Chandrashekara Nuggali, general secretary of the association. Why NCERT textbooks? NCERT textbooks have been prescribed in all schools following the central syllabus and are considered to be updated. It has been a common trend that students preparing for competitive exams to professional courses, and even in recruitment exams, including civil services follow NCERT textbooks for reference. One of the reasons for this could also be that these exams have more NCERT syllabus-based questions.
Time of India
12-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Kannada medium schools face low enrolment as parents prefer bilingual options
Mangaluru: Despite the success of Kannada-English bilingual schools in Dakshina Kannada, traditional Kannada medium schools on the same campuses continue to suffer from poor enrolment. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now As of now, the district has a total of 123 bilingual schools spread across all taluks. According to officials, the majority of these Kannada medium schools have single-digit admissions to Class 1. This highlights a growing preference for English-integrated education in the district, posing a significant challenge to the future of Kannada medium instruction schools. HR Eshwara, BEO, South, told TOI there is a growing demand for bilingual schools across the district since they teach both in Kannada and English. However, parents have misunderstood that it is a purely English-medium school. As a result, there are few admissions to traditional Kannada medium schools with Kannada being the medium of instruction. The permissible admission to these bilingual schools in a batch for a year is 30. There are instances where teachers ask the parents to admit their children into Kannada medium schools when they demand bilingual education. It is done based on the teachers' evaluation of the child's academic strength. "Though the parents force teachers to admit them into the bilingual medium, teachers counsel them to join the Kannada medium as they are required to be part of Nali-Kali, a project to ensure early literacy competencies in Kannada language learning, basic numeracy, and environmental science. The three-year Nali-Kali helps a child to equip themselves with academic knowledge. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now If the parent is unwilling, the teachers send them to admit them to a bilingual medium," said Eshwara. BEOs pointed out that there is more demand for English medium schools, and it is leading to a rush at bilingual medium schools. Parents insist that their ward be admitted to these schools. "Soon, these Kannada medium schools on bilingual medium school campuses will shut down due to poor admissions. We cannot force parents to join Kannada medium schools, and teachers are helpless," said one of the BEOs. On the other hand, many parents, especially from North Karnataka, prefer only Kannada-medium schools. Krishnappa said that while locals prefer bilingual medium schools, migrants from North Karnataka prefer only Kannada medium schools. In the academic year 2019-20, a total of 48 bilingual schools were sanctioned for the first time, and it has 123, with three schools being permitted this academic year. The total admitted students in these schools is around 3,000.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
School association condemns government's disciplinary actions
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Karnataka Private School Managements Training Expressing strong concern and disappointment, the state's school association has written to, opposing the recent move to issue notices to District Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs) over poor Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) results in certain districts. Siddaramaiah on Saturday had instructed the Chief Secretary to issue formal notices to the Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs) in districts where the SSLC exam results were below 60%. The CM further directed that if the responses to these notices are found unsatisfactory, strict action should be taken against the concerned a letter to the CM, the association stated that while accountability is essential, punitive actions against officials without a thorough understanding of systemic issues amount to misplaced priorities. 'Issuing notices to DDPIs may appear to be a corrective measure, but it overlooks deep-rooted policy failures and long-standing ground-level challenges,' the letter noted.'We criticise the absence of structured consultation with teachers, school heads, and education experts, despite multiple comparative studies and reports being submitted to the government. We stress that the recent dip in SSLC performance is not a reflection of individual negligence but the result of systemic shortcomings,' said Shashi Kumar D, General Secretary of Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) and Convenor of, Teaching & Non Teaching Staff Co-ordination Committee (KPMTCC). He said that these include the lack of continuous reforms at foundational levels, the poor implementation of the National Council of Educational Research and(NCERT) based spiral curriculum, the failure of the Nali-Kali framework, and the ineffectiveness of District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) in providing relevant pedagogical like CRPs, BEOs, and DDPIs, the letter stated, are often overburdened with administrative tasks, leaving little room for academic mentoring. 'When the system prioritises showing results over genuine learning, it breeds artificial performance and data manipulation—practices that endanger long-term educational integrity,' the association also raised concerns about the overuse of grace marks, calling it a band-aid solution that conceals the underlying learning crisis. Instead, they proposed the introduction of a more meaningful internal assessment system aligned with NCERT methodologies, starting from early grades. Calling the crisis 'a systemic challenge, not an individual lapse,' the association urged the Chief Minister to halt demoralising disciplinary actions and instead focus on deeper said that there is a need for review of education policy in line with the 2019 Right To Education (RTE) amendment, along with foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) programmes to revive quality education at the primary level. 'There is also a need for creation of an apolitical, consultative platform comprising MLAs from teachers' and graduates' constituencies, education experts, senior officials, and teacher associations to guide long-term education reforms,' he said.
