Govt approves India-OECD pact on students

The Union Cabinet Tuesday gave ex-post facto approval to the agreement between India and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for participating in the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA). PISA will be conducted by the OECD in 2021. The agreement was signed on January 28, 2019.

On benefits of the pact, an official statement said learnings from participation in PISA will help to introduce competency-based examination reforms in the school system and help move away from rote learning. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will be part of the process and activities leading to the actual test.

PISA is a competency-based assessment which unlike content-based assessment, measures the extent to which students have acquired key competencies that are essential for full participation in modern societies. The CBSE and the NCERT will be part of the process and activities leading to the actual test, the release said.

Schools run by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and schools in Chandigarh will participate. More than 80 countries, including 44 middle-income countries including Brazil, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam have participated in PISA.

(With inputs from agencies.)