Safal will help in learning outcomes

While addressing various stakeholders of the education fraternity on the special eve of the first anniversary of the New Education Policy–2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally launched Safal (Structured Assessment for Analysing Learning). It is one of the major assessment tools for school education that aims to revolutionise assessment beyond the present day rote learning assessment yardsticks in the form of a 2 hours yearend written examination.

Safal is a competency-based assessment for Class 3, 5 and 8, initially implemented through CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education). In short, all Class 3, 5 and 8 students will take school examinations which will examine the foundational learning outcomes, through analysis of core concepts and competencies among students. Safal as a diagnostic assessment caters developmental feedback to schools, parents and teachers. At present CBSE, ICSE and state Boards conducts assessment only for Class 10 and 12 students.

NEP-2020 has made clear postulates to improve the quality of assessment in all levels of school education. It recommends transforming the assessment system for improving the learning levels needed for the 21st century. Assessment of pupils' learning outcomes is vital to improving the quality of education. It is the process of collecting and assessing information on what learners know, what they understood, what they can do, how they can act it in real-life situations etc. The new assessment method would be focused on the core competencies like literacy, numeracy and language skills along with relevant HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) and application of acquired knowledge in contemporary real-life situations rather than rote memorisation.

For Class 3, the assessment includes areas such as basic literacy, numeracy and other foundational skills, reading, speaking, writing and comprehension etc.

The noteworthy feature of Safal is that the assessment records are not meant for promotion purposes from one class to the next higher class, but is meant only for the required interventions by the school authorities, teachers or parents to improve pupils' learning outcome.

In the present world scenario, many countries practise similar assessment tools like Safal. For example, Australia conducts assessments for Class 3, 5, 7 and 9 similar to Safal. In Britain, students of Class 2, 6, 9 and 12 are assessed in key competencies in language, science and mathematics like the PISA (Programme for International Students Assessment) pattern.

The very purpose of introducing the globally accepted assessments norm like Safal is to equip our new generation learners with 21st-century learning skills and our teachers with new generation teaching skills. These factors, in turn directly support to reap the benefits of the ongoing demographic dividends in the next 3 decades (2020-2050) expecting an overall growth of 15% to 18%. No doubt, the NEP-2020 is exclusively meant to make preparatory ground to harvest demographic dividends.

(The writer is the principal, Sharada Residential School, Udupi)