Plummeting school test scores: Understanding the bigger problems beyond COVID-19 lockdowns

In late May, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) released the results of the 2021 National Achievement Survey, which evaluates learning outcomes based on a standardised test. The results of the test, which was conducted in November 2021, showed that in nearly every State and Union Territory, scores dropped significantly compared to the 2018 results. The NAS is the most significant and stark indicator of the pandemic's impact on learning losses yet, posing this difficult question: what do we do now? 

In this podcast, The Hindu speaks with experts on what went wrong during lockdowns, what needs to be done moving forward, and just how badly India's educational system is in need of a revamp. 

Host: Sonikka Loganathan 

Guests: 

Jean Drèze - Development economist, former member of the UPA’s National Advisory Council 

S. Poorjava - Reporter covering education in Tamil Nadu for The Hindu 

Disha Nawani - Professor and dean, School of Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai