Celebrating 25 years of impact, Akshara Foundation, a Bangalore-based Public charitable trust committed to ensuring ‘Every Child in School and Learning Well,’ launched the 2024-25 Gram Panchayat Level Maths Contests Report that reveals interesting gender-based trends in performance across grades 4, 5, and 6. The report unveiled on March 10 found girls consistently outperformed boys in the higher performance bands, while boys tended to lag girls at the lower end of the spectrum in all grades. Also, there were noticeable fluctuations in specific competencies between grades. While subtraction skills improved from grade 4 to grade 5, division skills declined, indicating areas for targeted intervention. These trends highlight the importance of addressing gender-based learning differences and the need for tailored interventions to support boys, especially in foundational skills such as division.
It may be mentioned that under the Ganitha Kalika Andolana (GKA) initiative, a maths learning movement supported by the Government of Karnataka, Akshara Foundation has been facilitating community-led assessments called Gram Panchayat-level Maths Contests to evaluate the current maths learning levels of children in grades 4, 5, and 6. The initiative has been going on for a few years now.
In the year 2024-25, a total of 5,95,517 children from 26,188 schools in 4,890 Gram Panchayats across 28 districts in Karnataka were assessed in around 30 days under these Gram Panchayat level Maths Contests.Unlike traditional assessments, these contests are specifically designed to address the gaps in numeracy levels of children studying in government schools.
Conducted outside the school environment, they foster discussions among parents, teachers, and the wider community about children’s learning levels.
Speaking about the report, Mr. Ashok Kamath, Chairman of Akshara Foundation, said, “For more than a decade, we have worked dedicatedly to create an environment in rural Karnataka where learning mathematics is both accessible and engaging. We believe that mathematics is the cornerstone of a child’s education, laying the foundation for all future learning and growth. We are confident that our efforts through Ganitha Kalika Andolana will make a lasting impact, uniting communities, parents, teachers, and children to enhance mathematics education across rural Karnataka. The collaboration shown by local Gram Panchayats, the Education Department, and our volunteers has been truly extraordinary. This report not only showcases the remarkable participation and enthusiasm surrounding the contests but also offers valuable insights into the challenges faced by children, especially in rural and resource-limited areas. At Akshara Foundation, we are dedicated to bridging these gaps and building a future where every child can thrive and excel in their learning journey.”
