IT’S THE morning assembly at the government secondary school on Ladhowali road in Jalandhar, and 13-year-old Prabhleen, a student of Class 9, steps up to deliver an eloquent speech in English on “social media”. “It can make or break a person,” she says. “I appeal to all my dear friends to use it with caution or it may have a devastating effect on your life. Thank you,” she winds up.
What has changed, say officials, teachers and students in Jalandhar, is Padho Punjab — a new activity-based learning initiative launched eight months ago by the state government.
According to government figures, one of the highest failure rates among compulsory subjects in the Class 10 state board exams over the last five years was in English, except in 2016 when 26-30 grace marks were awarded to improve results.
The data shows that 89,789 students failed in English in 2018 — they formed 60% of all those who failed in a compulsory subject that year; 70,436 failed in 2017 (50%); 56,628 in 2016 (59%); 80,278 (72%) in 2015; and 66,546 (63%) in 2014.
Read more of this positive change taking place in a report by Anju Agnihotri Chaba published in The Indian Express....
