With an aim to strengthen the school education system, the state Education Department, under the leadership of Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla and Education Secretary Krishan Kumar, will conduct the Punjab Achievement Survey (PAS) on Monday.
Punjab is the first state to hold this test. Around 26 lakh students from classes 1 to12 studying in 19,166 government schools of the state will participate in it.
This step was taken because of the poor performance of Punjab in the National Ability Survey (NAS). NAS is conducted by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to monitor improvement in children’s learning levels and to periodically assess the health of the government education system.
“It will be based on the parameters of the NAS and the learning outcome of the students would be assessed on the basis of multiple choice questions (MCQs) as per the prescribed syllabus of selective subjects, including English, science, math and social studies of different classes,” Singla had said, adding that with this, they also aimed at achieving the first rank in the NAS.
With a view to conduct the PAS meticulously, the department had also started organising webinars to sensitise the DEO, Deputy DEO, Block Primary Education Officers, Parho Punjab Parhao Punjab Coordinators, Zila Sikhiya Sudhar Teams and Social Media Coordinators about the parametres, tools, procedures for the survey, so that all of them could play their role.
On August 24, the first mock test of PAS will be conducted in an online quiz based on NAS pattern. In the test, 5-5 questions from science, math, SST, Punjabi, Hindi and English will be asked. After this, the first mock test will be held on September 16 and October 21. The final test will be held on 11 November.
As per information, the PAS will not only prepare the students and teachers for the NAS but also go a long way in strengthening the foundation of understanding level and enhancing reasoning ability of the students.
