NEW DELHI: Claiming that there is a “national learning crisis” in the country, Congress on Saturday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over reduced spending in the education sector, saying it has led to “foundation failure” for Class III students, widened learning gaps for Class VI students, and that secondary Class IX students are struggling to explain how local governments work in a democracy.
In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge targeted PM Modi, especially for his yearly pep-talk show ‘Pareeksha Par Charcha’ with students, saying, “Buzz words & self-publicity events like ‘Pareeksha Par Charcha’ and ‘Exam Warriors’ cannot whitewash these STARK indices depicting the REAL State of Education in India!” He said the government’s apathy towards the education sector is leading to falling learning outcomes. “Modi Govt remains apathetic to our future,” he said.
The short video clip shared by the Congress chief mentioned that the national learning crisis is worse than the pre-Covid era in the country.
Stating that Modi’s government’s policy has led to foundation failure for students at Class III, the video mentioned, “40 per cent cannot understand characters; 50 per cent cannot recognise shapes; 45 percent lack math vocabulary.” The clipping also mentioned that learning gaps have widened for students at the Class VI level. “44 per cent cannot infer meaning from simple texts; 71 per cent cannot apply basic fractions; 62 per cent cannot convert units like cm to m. 62 per cent cannot predict natural patterns like seasons; 54 per cent cannot read simple maps,” the video mentioned. The clipping shared by Kharge also stated that students at the secondary stage (Class IX) are also struggling in their learning.
“46 per cent cannot find main points in articles. 61 per cent cannot identify number patterns. 69 per cent cannot understand number sets like fractions; 64 per cent cannot classify matter by physical/ chemical traits. 62 per cent cannot explain matter changes. 66 per cent cannot differentiate living from non-living things. 61 per cent cannot explain historical changes or their effects. 67 per cent cannot describe natural events like weather or rivers. 61 per cent don’t know how local governments work in a democracy,” it mentioned. The video mentioned that education has been neglected. “Now we know the ill effects of reducing spending on education by half,” it mentioned.