Girls as good as boys in maths and better than boys in language: NCERT survey Times of India

3/27/2016 Girls as good as boys in maths: NCERT survey Times

of India

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Girls as good as boys in maths: NCERT survey

TNN | Mar 18, 2016,

N EW DELHI: The notion that girls are not good with numbers and science is just a myth, if data from a nationwide survey of more than 2.7 lakh students is any indicator. The survey conducted on Class X student showed girls performed on an equal footing with boys in mathematics, science and social sciences.

The study, however, upheld another common conception — that girls have better language skills. Girls outperformed boys in English and other languages in the survey conducted in 2015 by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in 7,216 schools following different boards across 33 states and Union territories.

 

The study also highlighted rampant under-performance among students in rural settings, those studying in government schools and hailing from underprivileged backgrounds, such as Dalits and tribals.

Another disturbing trend was the poor showing in science and maths by students in a majority of states. Scores in science were below the national average in 24 states.

In maths, the survey showed 21 states falling below the average. In general, students struggled the most in subjects that involved numerical problems and practicals. The study also showed that a few states were far ahead of the rest.

In mathematics, only four states and UTs performed way above the national average while students from 21 states and UTs were assessed to be significantly below the average. In science, as many as 24 states and UTs were below the national average even while a large variation was found in scores within states.

"The survey revealed that the majority of the states and UTs are performing below the overall average score in all subject areas... Low achievement is largely an outcome of lack of conceptual clarity and understanding," says the report.

On average, just 41% of the questions on English were answered correctly. In mathematics, the percentage was even less (40%). It was slightly better for science (43%) and social sciences (47%). It was only in modern Indian languages (MIL) that

students on average managed to answer more than half the questions correctly (53.5%).

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