Dated: 10th December 2024
We often hear about the burden of the population in India, with relative neglect of the fact that around 9.7 million potential workers are added every year in the country, which can change the future of this great nation, provided this population is educated and trained adequately and effectively to join the workforce. Unfortunately, the socio-economically underprivileged population in the country has little scope to get adequate exposure or encouragement to study subjects like Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). American India Foundation Trust (AIFT) has taken initiatives to bridge India’s educational divide by targeting underserved and under-resourced government schools in various states through its Digital Equalizer program. SIGMA Foundation is proud to become a partner in this endeavor by preparing baseline reports in three states, viz. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and, Chandigarh, and working on the baseline report of Uttar Pradesh. Around 3000 students from 23 schools, both girls and boys, of classes 6 to 10 participated in the study which consisted of information regarding their family background, especially educational and occupational details of the parents, school attendance, availability of Computer classes in the schools, and use of these facilities for teaching. The study also covered assessing the level of interest among the students in studying STEM subjects and opting for career pathways in the stream. Further, the students were also evaluated for two subjects viz. science and mathematics.
The study found that despite the poor educational attainment of most parents, the students attended schools regularly and had a fair degree of academic aspirations. However, the scores of the students in science and mathematics were mostly between modest and poor with very few students performing excellently. Some students mentioned difficulty in following the classes and some have blamed themselves for their inability to understand the classroom transactions. A strong connection between the father’s education level and the student’s academic aspiration was evident. Awareness about STEM subjects and career options is quite poor among students indicating the necessity of such interventions.