10-05-2025
‘Ennum Ezhuthum helped Class 3, 5 students make up for learning loss'
:
Students of Classes 3 and 5 have achieved better learning outcomes in Tamil with an average of 67% and 76% respectively, according to the State-level Achievement Survey 2025 (SLAS), which was released on Saturday.
In a first for the State, the survey was conducted by Samagra Shiksha, State Council of Educational Research and Training, Directorates of School Education and Elementary Education and supervised by the State Planning Commission to assess the learning outcomes of Classes 3, 5, and 8 students in government and aided schools.
A total of 9,80,341 students from 45,924 schools took part in the survey. They were given a questionnaire containing 35-50 questions, which they had to answer in 90 minutes. As many as 38,670 final-year students from arts and engineering colleges served as field invigilators.
Class 3 students achieved 67% in Tamil, 54% in Mathematics, and 76% in Environmental Science. The scores of Tamil, English and Environmental Science, are higher than the national averages, based on the 2021 National Achievement Survey results. The trend is similar with Class 5, which recorded 76% in Tamil, 51% in English, 57% in Environmental Science, and 57% in Mathematics.
The report noted that the improvement in Class 3 and 5 was the effective implementation of Ennum Ezhuthum which enhanced student learning outcomes. However, as noticed in the National Achievement Survey of 2021, the scores in Mathematics and Science take a dip in Class 8, with the students scoring 38% and 37% respectively.
Across the classes, there was a progressive decline in English too with class 3 at 69%, class 5 at 51% and class 8 at 38%. Addressing a press conference, Vice Chairman of the State Planning Commission J. Jeyaranjan attributed the decline in Class 8 to learning loss due to COVID-19 pandemic. 'While the benefits of utilising schemes such as Ennum Ezhuthum and Illam Thedi Kalvi have been reflected in Class 3 and 5, more utilisation of these programmes are required for Class 8,' he said.
He further added that SSLAS will be conducted next year also to further assess learning outcomes after interventions. 'We will consult and formulate action plans at the granular level so that each school benefits,' a senior official from the School Education Department said.
