Delhi govt working to reduce Covid-induced learning gap for its schools' students: Sisodia

New Delhi, Jun 13 (PTI) The Delhi government is working towards bridging the learning gap induced by COVID-19 for students of state-run schools, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Monday.

Sisodia, who is also Delhi's education minister, made the comments during his visit to two government schools to review the status of 'Mission Buniyaad' -- a programme aimed at improving the learning skills of children studying in state and municipal-run schools.

"Ever since the reopening of schools after the pandemic, we are working to bridge the Covid-induced learning gap through various initiatives," Sisodia said.

"One of the key initiatives being implemented in this direction is Mission Buniyaad. It aims to bridge the learning gap and improve the reading, writing and basic mathematical abilities of children from class 3 to 9," he added.

The last two years with Covid were tough for students and have widened the learning gap, the deputy chief minister said.

"We do not want a generation to move ahead with this learning gap. To ensure the same, our teachers are diligently working since the past two months with students on improving skills of reading, writing and basic mathematics in Mission Buniyaad classes," he added.

The Delhi government had announced the launch of ‘Mission Buniyaad’ in February 2018.

"Our primary objective is to help children strengthen their foundational skills, instead of getting them burdened by syllabus," he said.

"Along with this, after Covid we have also increased the coverage of Mission Buniyaad till class 9 to guide the students better. Currently, about 10 lakh students are part of this mission and attendance has always been recorded over 65 per cent everyday," he added.

The Deputy chief minister further said the ongoing phase of 'Mission Buniyaad' classes have played an important role in bridging the learning gap after the pandemic, and will continue till June 15. It will resume when the schools reopen in July, he said.

'Mission Buniyaad' is being implemented in all the schools under the Directorate of Education (DoE) daily.

The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has updated learning material and teacher manuals to be followed under this mission which includes a maths workbook, a book of stories to improve reading-listening-speaking and writing skills for students.

Teachers were trained regularly by SCERT to implement this mission better.