The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan (PRS) Report 2024, released by the State Council of Education Research & Training (SCERT) Nagaland, has offered a comprehensive assessment of student learning outcomes and school education practices across Grades 3,6 and 9 in the state.
The findings highlight serious academic challenges, especially in Mathematics, and underscore the urgent need for data-driven reforms to improve the quality of education in Nagaland.
The nationwide survey, earlier known as the National Achievement Survey, was conducted by PARAKH, NCERT under the Ministry of Education on December 4, 2024. It assessed student competencies in Language, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science, covering 22,220 students and over 3,335 teachers from 724 schools across Nagaland. Student performance was analysed across multiple indicators including gender, location, school management type, and social group, providing a detailed picture of learning disparities across the state.
According to the report, at the Foundational Stage (Grade 3), Nagaland’s overall performance remained below the national average, with Mathematics emerging as a major area of concern. While Phek and Mokokchung districts performed better compared to others, Kiphire and Tuensang were among the lowest-performing districts. Alarmingly, Kiphire also figured among the 50 lowest-performing districts in the country at this stage.
The situation worsened at the Preparatory Stage (Grade 6), where students again scored below the national average, particularly in Mathematics, placing Nagaland among the bottom ten performing states in India.
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Mokokchung and Phek continued to lead within the state, while Noklak, Mon, Shamator, Tuensang, and Kiphire remained at the lower end of performance. Among these, Noklak, Shamator, and Kiphire were listed among the 50 lowest-performing districts nationally, reflecting a persistent learning crisis in these regions.
At the Middle Stage (Grade 9), students in Nagaland performed above the national average in Language, offering a rare positive indicator. However, they continued to lag behind in Mathematics, Science, and Social Science, pointing to systemic issues in conceptual learning and subject mastery.
According to report, Kohima, Mokokchung, and Dimapur emerged as the top-performing districts, while Shamator, Kiphire, Noklak, and Mon remained at the bottom. Once again, Shamator and Kiphire featured among the 50 lowest-performing districts in the country at this level.
Significantly, the report noted that none of the districts in Nagaland featured among the top-performing districts at the national level in any of the grades, raising concerns about overall educational competitiveness and learning quality in the state.
The PRS Report 2024 now stands as a critical evidence base to guide district and state level planning, ensuring data driven reforms to improve the quality, equity, and relevance of school education in Nagaland.
