British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to ensure that all children in the United Kingdom will study mathematics in some form until they reach 18 years of age so that they do not lag behind in today’s age of data and statistics.
What is the situation in mathematics education in India, a country with a legacy of great mathematical achievements dating back to the fifth century astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata, who is credited with inventing the zero.
Is mathematics a compulsory subject in schools in India?
Mathematics has always been a compulsory subject in India in schools. The Kothari Commission (1964-66) — India’s first ever attempt to formulate a coherent education policy for the country under the leadership of Dr D S Kothari, recommended that mathematics should be made compulsory for students of classes 1 to 10 as a part of general education.
According to the commission, India’s developmental needs were better met by scientists and thus it laid emphasis on mathematics and science education.
The same philosophy continued in the second National Education Policy in the year 1986, in which mathematics was seen as the vehicle to train children to think, reason, analyse, and articulate logically.
What is the current status of mathematics education in India?
As the country is in the process of implementing the third National Education Policy (2020), mathematics continues to remain a core subject in schools affiliated to the different education boards active in the country, with required change in pedagogy to meet the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) goals of school education.
Children are taught the subject beginning at the elementary level, and it is a core subject, or even a compulsory subject, in almost all boards. Even as some boards have offered the option of general or basic mathematics at the class 10 level, the subject continues to remain compulsory, at least until the class 10 exams. Children appearing for the class 10 board exams are generally around 16 years of age.
What is general or basic mathematics?
It essentially implies a simpler level of mathematics. In this system, the mathematics subject is offered in two formats — standard and basic — especially at the class 10 level for the purpose of the board exam. ‘Standard’ mathematics is the regular mathematics syllabus, while ‘basic’ mathematics is a simpler version where the focus is on application-based knowledge of mathematics required in day-to-day life.
Students who are sure of not wanting to pursue any mathematics-related fields for higher education such as engineering can opt for basic mathematics, but those who want to pursue engineering or some other mathematics-related stream of science for higher education have to opt for ‘standard’.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the biggest board network in India, offers the standard/ basic option, as does the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) board and some state boards such as Rajasthan and Gujarat.
However, not many students across boards opt for the basic option, given its restricted higher prospects. Students wanting to opt for streams such as science, engineering, etc. have to compulsorily study standard mathematics, which includes algebra and geometry.
What does the performance of students in maths indicate?
Considering the importance of mathematics as a subject, and the awareness regarding FLN goals, mathematics is included in surveys conducted by the government to gauge actual learning and understanding levels of students in mathematics.
Mathematics, even after being a compulsory subject at school levels, continues to be a cause for concern. According to the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021, which is a comprehensive evaluation of students’ understanding in classes 3, 5, 8 and 10 with a sample size of over 34 lakh students across the country, in almost all classes, students’ performance were not up to the mark. In fact, performance in mathematics had dropped drastically compared to the previous report from 2017.
Only 32 per cent students showed mathematics skills at par with the expected learning outcomes. The report also showed a decline in the performance of students in mathematics as they moved towards higher classes. After a 57 per cent score in mathematics in class 3, it fell to 44 per cent in class 5 and 36 per cent in class 8, and 32 per cent in class 10 nationally. Special, targeted interventions are planned at local levels to improve the score.
