Telangana students trail national average in key learning competencies: NITI Aayog

A NITI Aayog report has highlighted significant learning gaps among Telangana school students across foundational, preparatory and middle stages. The State scored below the national average in several language, mathematics, science and social science competencies, raising concerns over existing learning improvement initiatives

Hyderabad: A NITI Aayog report has raised serious concerns over learning gaps at the foundational, preparatory and middle stages among school students in Telangana.

The recently released report titled School Education System in India – Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement highlighted that only 58 per cent and 54 per cent of State students achieved competencies in language and mathematics at the foundational stage (Class III). This was lower than the national average of 64 per cent in language and 60 per cent in mathematics.

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Among all States, students from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala achieved 75 per cent competencies as per the grade-level expectations in both subjects. States such as Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Telangana continue to face gaps in foundational learning, the report said.

The language competency test included knowing and using enough words to carry out day-to-day interactions, and reading and comprehending short stories and news items. Arranging numbers up to 99 in ascending and descending order, identifying simple patterns, and simple addition and subtraction were part of the mathematical competencies at the foundational level.

The report was based on the PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) 2024 details. At every level, Telangana lagged behind. At the preparatory stage (Class VI), the State secured language competency of 53 per cent and mathematics competency of 44 per cent, while the national average stood at 57 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively.

States such as Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Nagaland remain below the national average, suggesting persistent gaps in preparatory-stage learning, it said.

As for the middle stage (Class IX), both the national average and the State scored 54 per cent in language competencies. However, the State scored below the national average with 37 per cent in mathematics, 40 per cent in science and 40 per cent in social science competencies.

These scores have now raised questions over the effectiveness of interventions such as Foundational Literacy and Numeracy and Learning Improvement Programmes, which are being implemented by the State government to improve basic learning skills among school students.