COVID-19 and its impact: Why are Odisha school students faring poorly in English, Odia and Math?

Around 40 per cent of students from Classes VI to VIII had scored less than 20 marks in Odia and English as per the baseline survey conducted by the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA)
Picture for representational purposes only | (Pic: Express)
Picture for representational purposes only | (Pic: Express)

According to the latest assessment by the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA), it was found that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the learning of school children, as they have been found to be struggling even with the language subjects.

Around 40 per cent of students from Classes VI to VIII had scored less than 20 marks in Odia and English as per the baseline survey which was carried out by the state government following the reopening of schools after the COVID-19 shutdown.

OSEPA carried out the assessment in government and government-aided schools in three phases between October 27, 2021 and March 11, 2022. As per the findings from all the districts, there was an alarming level of learning loss among the students, especially in key subjects like Odia, English and Math. 

It was considered that nearly 35 per cent of students from Class VIII had secured less than 20 marks in Odia, whereas, 42.5 per cent of students secured less than 20 in English. Similarly, 40 per cent of students scored less than 20 in Math.

When it comes to students of Class VII, 43.99 per cent of them had secured less than 20 marks in Odia and 41.98 per cent scored below 20 in English. About 43 per cent scored below 20 in Math.

The performance of Class VI students was equally concerning as more than 40 per cent secured below 20 marks in all the three papers. Even the students studying in Classes I to V, who attended schools from February end after two years, had struggled to perform well in all the three papers, Odia, English and Maths.

According to OSEPA data, around 34 per cent of students from Class I had secured below 50 marks in Odia, while the percentage was 32 per cent in Class II, 28 per cent in Class III, 29 per cent in Class IV and 26 per cent students in Class V secured less than 33 in the same paper.

Around 29 per cent of students from Classes I to V secured below 33 marks in Math while 28 pc in Class IV and 27 per cent in Class V scored less than 20 in English.

The officials of OSEPA stated that in order to improve the performance of students in all three subjects during the formative and summative assessment tests, extra classes will also be conducted, if required, to clear the doubts of students during the summer vacation. The summer vacation has already been curtailed by one month by the state government to address this learning loss among the students.

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