Parental involvement in kids' academics low: study

A majority of the parents in Karnataka show low to moderate level of involvement in their wards' academic progress in the government schools in the state, according to an assessment by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

The extent of the parental involvement with the "school activities" is also "medium" in the state even as the students of classes III, V and VIII, enrolled to government-run and aided elementary schools in Karnataka, outshone their counterparts in other states in a nationwide competency test, conducted by the NCERT in November last year.

The council's findings on the parental involvement in the elementary education of their wards in Karnataka are based on the views expressed by the school teachers during the competency test in the state.

"While 20% of the teachers (interviewed in Karnataka) said the parental support for the students' achievement was low, 54% of them said it is medium," the state report card prepared by the NCERT on the outcomes of the test noted.

Only 26% teachers said that parental support for the students' achievement was high in the state, the report added.

The level of parental involvement with their wards' academic progress and other activities in the state are same in the government-aided schools, the report indicated.

The NCERT conducted a first-of-its-kind competency test to assess the learning levels of the students of classes III, V and VIII, enrolled to government-run and aided schools, in 701 districts of all 36 states and union territories on November 13, 2017.

As many as 22 lakh students from 1,10,000 schools across the country took the 160-minute test in four subjects - Language, Mathematics, Science and Social Science.

In Karnataka, a total of 36,820 Class III students of 1,766 schools, 38,651 Class V students of 1,826 schools and 47,021 Class VIII students of 1,721 schools took the competency test.

While the students were tested to assess their their learning achievements, the survey teams of the council also interviewed their teachers and headmasters of the sample schools to elicit their views on various aspects pertaining to imparting of education to the children in their schools.

As many as 4,554 teachers of Class III, 5,208 teachers of Class V and 6,570 teachers of Class VIII were interviewed in Karnataka during the survey.

"Outcome of the competency test has been shared with each of the states, including Karnataka, so that they can take necessary measures to further improve the quality of school education in the state," an NCERT official said.