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.
