NEW DELHI: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will soon set up a Rural Education Cell to figure out the problems that plague rural schools and to strengthen their overall performance.

The Council has also decided to create a new Reading Cell - to be funded by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan - that will focus attention on the reading skills and capabilities of students of Classes I and II.

The Executive Committee chaired by Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh that met on Thursday approved of these two plans, NCERT Director Krishna Kumar said on Thursday.

The Rural Education Cell that will be housed on the NCERT campus will make a deep analysis of the all-India education survey data to assess the condition of rural schools. "We will segregate the rural data gender wise and age wise to look deeply at patterns that emerge. We will try to get to the heart of the problem of rural education in terms of working conditions, infrastructure, teachers, poor performance and high dropout rate of students," Prof. Kumar said.

The cell will also conduct case studies in different States and organise conferences for rural teachers to help evolve a policy for rural schools. "Personally, I am happy that we will be doing something especially for rural schools. The rural-urban divide in the field of education in our country is something which we would very much like to study and bridge," he added.

As part of the Reading Cell, NCERT would bring out graded self-reading series of "tiny books" for little children that will help to sustain their interest in what they read. These books comprising pictures along with text will be graded according to the level of vocabulary and difficulty for children.

Regarding the second initiative, Mr. Kumar stated, "From our many surveys we have found out that the reading skills of students do not get fully consolidated in Classes I and II. The children can read mechanically but can't necessarily draw the meaning of the text. Reading is the basis of all understanding. If the child does not understand what he reads in Class I, then the path becomes tougher and tougher for him in future classes."

Initially NCERT will zero in on one district that has a poor reading record for its intensive work. Following the go-ahead by the Executive Committee, the Council will now make its proposals to the HRD Ministry for implementation of the projects.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail