A study revealed that the engineering students belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST) or Scheduled Castes (SC) learn at a faster rate than those from the general category.
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) along with Stanford University and the World Bank has conducted a study on learning assessment outcomes between October and November 2017.
The results of the study released recently also revealed that the male engineering students perform better in Physics and Mathematics than women engineering students. According to the study, boys have better higher-order thinking skills than girls.
The study covered 45,453 first and third-year students of one Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), seven National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and other engineering institutes under the AICTE across India.
“It points out that the overall learning curve for students, especially in mathematics and physics, from the first to third year, is very steep. The rate of learning of Indian students in mathematics and physics is much higher compared to China and Russia. Though in absolute terms China is much ahead,” said World Bank economist, Tara Beteille.
As part of the study, students have to appear in a test divided into two parts – Academics (mathematics and physics) and higher-order thinking tests (critical thinking, quantitative literacy, creativity and a test of relational reasoning).
While the learning levels of SC/ST and OBC students improve from the first year to the third year, for female students the differences between them and the male students remain the same as it was in the first year – except in public non-elite institutions where they make some gains.
