NCERT(National Council of Educational Research and Training)

 

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 by the Government of India to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education. The major objectives of NCERT and its constituent units are to: undertake, promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education; prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, journals and develops educational kits, multimedia digital materials, etc. organise pre-service and in-service training of teachers; develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques and practices; collaborate and network with state educational departments universities, NGOs and other educational institutions; act as a clearing house for ideas and information in matters related to school education; and act as a nodal agency for achieving the goals of Universalisation of Elementary Education. In addition to research, development, training, extension, publication and dissemination activities, NCERT is an implementation agency for bilateral cultural exchange programmes with other countries in the field of school education. The NCERT also interacts and works in collaboration with the international organisations, visiting foreign delegations and offers various training facilities to educational personnel from developing countries.

The major constituent units of NCERT which are located in different regions of the country are:

National Institute of Education (NIE), New Delhi
Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET), New Delhi
Pandit SundarlalSharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), Bhopal.
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Ajmer
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhopal
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhubaneswar
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Mysore
North-East Regional Institute of Education (NERIE), Shillong.

ABOUT PARAKH

National Assessment Centre- PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) was set up in NCERT as an independent constituent unit via Notification no. 1-4/2012-EC/ 101- 164 of NCERT dated 8th Feb, 2023, to fulfil the basic objectives of setting norms, standards, guidelines and implement activities related to student assessment along with other tasks as mandated by Para 4.4.1 of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. There are four major areas of focus for PARAKH:

1.     Capacity Development in Competency Based Assessment

2.     Large-Scale Achievement Survey

3.     Equivalence of School Boards

4.     Holistic Progress Cards for the Foundational, Preparational, Middle and Secondary Stages.

The activities undertaken under PARAKH include:

1. Capacity Development in Competency Based Assessment

Project Vidyasagar – PARAKH in collaboration with PhD Chamber of Commerce (PhDCC) is organizing a series of workshops in all the States/UTs of India for the Dissemination of Learning Competencies at Foundational, Preparatory, Middle and Secondary Levels as per National Curriculum Framework 2023 (NCF, 2023). The aim of this exercise is to familiarize the teacher educators and teachers with the pedagogical and policy changes that have been introduced with the NCF 2023 in order to ensure that the gaps in the implementation of competency-based learning-teaching are bridged

2. Large-Scale Achievement Survey

PARAKH, has been mandated to organize large-scale achievement surveys to periodically monitor and assess the educational of the country. As a part of its mandate, PARAKH worked with States/UTs in conducting the State Educational Achievement Survey on November 3, 2023, assessing learners from Grades 3, 6, and 9 to gauge competencies in Foundational Literacy, Foundational Numeracy, Language, and Mathematics at the end of foundational, preparatory, and middle stages with educational blocks as the units of assessment. Administered in 30 States/UTs, the assessment covered an approximate sample of 8 million learners. Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh conducted the assessment in December, on the 7th and 13th respectively, due to assembly elections. Including these states, the sample size increased to approximately 8.5 million.

3. Equivalence of School Boards

PARAKH is working with boards of school education to develop recommendations pertaining to examination reforms. Once equivalence is brought across all Boards of India, it will be possible to allocate credit points to all forms of learning, be it academic, vocational, or experiential.

In the pursuit of equivalence, PARAKH has conducted regional workshops between June and August, 2023. In these workshops, data was collected from the Boards in the domains of administration, curriculum, assessments and infrastructure. To collect data, two tools were used, namely the Equivalence Questionnaire and the Question Paper Template Analysis. After analyzing the collected data, a report was prepared highlighting the areas to be focused on for attaining equivalence. Two national level workshops in the months of November and December, 2023 were conducted post this. In these workshops all the Boards were invited to read the report and make relevant suggestions and comments on the same. After such deliberations the Policy Recommendations for equivalence are being drafted.

Through these measures PARAKH has embarked upon a journey of setting norms, standards, guidelines, and implementing activities pertaining to student assessment in its major areas. Over the course of time, a major change in these domains is aspired.

4. Holistic Progress Cards for the Foundational, Preparational, Middle and Secondary Stages.

Development and Dissemination of the Holistic Progress Card for Foundational, Preparatory, Middle and Secondary stages. 360-degree Holistic Progress Cards has been developed in order to aid assessment of Competency-Based learning-teaching by making assessments more comprehensive and holistic in nature.

PARAKH has completed the development of the Holistic Progress Cards (HPC) for the foundational, preparatory, and middle stages. Currently, efforts are underway to develop the HPC for the secondary stage to ensure competency-based and holistic assessments.