Focused planning and community effort takes DK to top slot in state

Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada (DK) district's success, which reached the top slot in the SSLC-1 exam announced on Friday, was planned meticulously from the first day of the academic year, and overseen until the end of the last exam. Officials from the school education and literacy department in Dakshina Kannada attribute this success to a collective effort from all, including local communities in the district.
DK ZP CEO Anandh K said that a focused approach was taken this academic year. Some of the main factors included focusing on C grade schools and motivating them. Based on summative assessment-1 reports, a total of 4,000 slow learner students were identified and given one-to-one classes. The zilla panchayat conducted the jnana sinchana series of programmes for 45 days, and also implemented the 20-point programme of the state govt.
Govinda Madivala, DDPI, DK, shared that a total of 33 programmes were implemented throughout the year, which helped many students clear the examination. Madivala shared that some of these plans included completing the SSLC annual examination syllabus by the end of Dec and conducting special classes for one subject before and after school hours every day. They also paired students with slow learning traits with those who achieved academic progress to enhance learning, and developed question banks, among other strategies.
Other strategies used were improving students' writing skills by having them write two pages daily, and practice reading aloud. Parents' meetings were held every fortnight, to inform them about students' academic progress. Wake-up calls were made to ensure students were actively studying in the morning or night. Workshops for teachers were conducted to improve results. Students with learning difficulties were assigned to schoolteachers for adoption and managing their educational responsibilities. Home visits were conducted, and a special scoring series programme for high-scoring students with subject experts was organised. Motivational camps and training were provided to students with learning difficulties through experts. Series exams and three preparatory exams were organised, among others. "A total of 33 plans were made and implemented across the district," said Madivala.
While schools, especially govt high schools, informed that they were motivated by the department, this helped with good planning.