Why in news?
The Ministry of Human Resource Development decided to re-enter the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
What is PISA?
- Programme for International Student Assessment PISA is a global evaluation of 15-year-olds conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to test mathematical, scientific and reading skills of school students.
- A major goal of PISA is to untangle the factors that are associated with educational outcomes and to guide governments in constructing policies that improve these outcomes.
- During the UPA government, India had quit the test, complaining about questions being set “out of context” in relation to the Indian socio-cultural background.
Is PISA out of Indian context?
- Indian student may find it more comfortable to do sums using mangoes rather than avocados for units.
- But it is to be understood that the context of math and science is the universe and its contents.
- But Shanghai’s students succeeded in test involving European motifs.
- This suggests that the problem lies in India.
Why PISA can be significant?
- India lost out by boycotting PISA in 2012 and 2015, when Asian countries like China, South Korea and Singapore surged ahead.
- It should be understood that PISA is not a contest.
- It is a research exercise generating data which can be compared across borders.
- Finishing last should be seen as an opportunity to improve teaching methods and school systems by intelligent comparison.
- As result of this, International Standards can be adopted by Indian school boards for betterment.
- It is also a reliable indicator of the future intellectual capital of participating countries.
- It is a function of projected GDP, a reflection of the future wealth of nations.
- A country hoping to win the global GDP race should regard PISA as a target.
- The present government has done well to seek to return to PISA’s global testing system.
- But the crucial reform still lies ahead.
- PISA data must be used to improve the structural imbalance and the school system.
Source: Indian Express
