Kathmandu: A majority of tenth-graders are more likely to take up additional tuition classes to prepare for the SLC exams and resort to rote learning, a government-commissioned study has found.

Report from the first National Assessment of grade 10, commissioned by the Department of Education and conducted among 501 students in 123 public schools, said over 80 per cent of tenth-graders took up tuition classes, while over 50 per cent students joined additional classes with the teacher of their own school.

The students were quizzed as per curriculum objectives on language, Mathematics, life-skills and cognitive and meta-cognitive aspects of their learning. The tests covered Nepali, Mathematics, English, Social Studies and Science. Parents are paying Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 for tuition classes, mainly for English, Maths and Science to prepare their children for the SLC, the report said.

“Students are relying on outside-the-classroom sessions, which are promoting learning. The students are not taught cognitive learning — how to use their reason, intuition and perception,” said Prof Tirtha Khaniya, who headed the study. The students were trained only for SLC, Khaniya told this daily.

The study has recommended steps to be taken to reduce stress among SLC examinees and promote creativity, innovation and critical thinking rather than rote learning. Khaniya said the tuition classes should immediately be brought under purview of the government.

source: The Himalayan Times, 22 Dec 2011