NCERT, PARAKH hold State Educational Achievement Survey; 11 million children participate

The State Education Achievement Survey 2023 – ‘PARAKH 2023’ – is being overseen by NCERT’s new exam and testing unit, PARAKH. Punjab isn’t participating.

NEW DELHI : The education ministry conducted the first State Educational Achievement Survey (SEAS) across all participating states and union territories on Friday, November 3. This was the first major action of the new exam and testing body under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) called PARAKH, full form: Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development.

The survey was conducted to gauge the foundational literacy and numeracy of students in Classes 3,6 and 9 across government, government-aided, and private-unaided schools across the country. 11 million children – 110 lakh – were set to write the SEAS 2023.

According to reports, Punjab conveyed that it will not participate in the survey.

SEAS Survey 2023

The SEAS was conducted by PARAKH, a constituent body under NCERT. The State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) were responsible for organising the survey in the sampled schools in their respective states.

The SEAS 2023 leads up to the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2024 which will also be a PARAKH exam. The last NAS was held in 2021 .

While NAS tests students on foundational literacy and numeracy along with their understanding of science and social science concepts, SEAS focuses more on foundational literacy and numeracy. Compared to NAS, which focuses on districts, SEAS has a larger sample size as it aims to assess student competencies at the block level.