Key Initiatives
Saksham Ghoshna
As students move to higher classes without mastering learning outcomes of the previous one, the gap between their actual learning levels and what they are taught in the classroom keeps widening. It is thus necessary to provide students with the requisite support to bridge this learning gap and gain mastery over learning outcomes from previous classes. To mitigate this challenge Haryana has implemented a state-wide, structured remedial classes under the Learning Enhancement Program. LEP is a continuous remedial programme in Math, Hindi and English for students in Classes I to V, conducted throughout the academic year. It caters to 10 lakh students in all 8,556 government primary schools across the state. Remedial classes are conducted during the first 45 minutes of a school day, with the schedule of lessons aligned with content taught in the classroom.
Remedial Programme
As students move to higher classes without mastering learning outcomes of the previous one, the gap between their actual learning levels and what they are taught in the classroom keeps widening. It is thus necessary to provide students with the requisite support to bridge this learning gap and gain mastery over learning outcomes from previous classes. To mitigate this challenge Haryana has implemented a state-wide, structured remedial classes under the Learning Enhancement Program. LEP is a continuous remedial programme in Math, Hindi and English for students in Classes I to V, conducted throughout the academic year. It caters to 10 lakh students in all 8,556 government primary schools across the state. Remedial classes are conducted during the first 45 minutes of a school day, with the schedule of lessons aligned with content taught in the classroom.
Review and Monitoring
The overarching objective of this intervention is to make all stakeholders within the education system (teachers, state, block and district officials) accountable for the attainment of student learning outcomes. However, accountability requires measurement of performance which in turn rests on the availability of accurate data student assessment and from academic monitoring visits made by education officials. In 2017, the Government of Haryana launched a tech-based Academic Monitoring System (AMS) that allows mentors and monitors visiting schools to capture insights from their visits on an AMS App. State-wide data is collected from this App, analysed and made available on a dashboard that can be viewed by stakeholders across the education system, from the Chief Minister to a teacher. This data is used extensively during review meetings conducted at the state, district and block levels to identify problems areas that require corrective action.
Student Performance Dashboard
The Government of Haryana has built a robust, user-friendly dashboard collect, digitize, and analyse data from student assessments. Within 15 days of an exam, teachers collate marks for all students. A representative or data entry operator from each school logs into a data entry portal integrated with the state MIS to record assessment scores. The data is used to generate performance reports at the school, teacher, block, district and state level. This provides an accurate picture of student performance to all stakeholders and helps build transparency and public accountability.
Third-party assessment
The Saksham Ghoshna campaign was launched in December 2017 to devolve ownership and accountability to blocks for ensuring that 80% of students in each block became grade-level competent. Blocks that meet the bar are declared Saksham and felicitated. The overarching objective of Saksham Ghoshna is to generate momentum at the block level by creating a sense of healthy competition among blocks. To ensure transparency, an independent, third-party conducts the assessment to test for grade-competency, and not the state government. As the recognition for success of a block is given directly to key stakeholders within the system, they are motivated to meet the target, truly believing that their glory lies in their hands. After 8 rounds of Ghoshna assessments between December 2017 and May 2019, 90% of the blocks in Haryana (107 out of 119 blocks) are now Saksham.