Mission 40+ gives SSLC aspirants a new ray of hope in NW K’taka

Dharwad: With the SSLC examinations scheduled to begin on March 18, the school education and literacy department has intensified its efforts to improve student performance across the north west Karnataka education division.More than 2.2 lakh students from seven districts — Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri and Uttara Kannada — will appear for the examinations this year. While improving the pass percentage remains a priority, the department is also focusing on enhancing the overall academic performance of students across the region. Historically, SSLC results in these districts have shown uneven trends. Among them, Uttara Kannada has consistently recorded strong performance in both SSLC and II PUC examinations. In contrast, Dharwad, despite being widely regarded as an educational hub, has not always met expectations in terms of SSLC results. This year, however, officials are optimistic that a range of academic interventions will bring noticeable improvement. Programmes such as Mission 40+, Setu Bandha and the 29-point SSLC Improvement Programme have been introduced to strengthen learning outcomes and ensure that students are better prepared for the examinations. North west zone additional commissioner for school education Ishwar Ullagaddi said the department launched the Setu Bandha programme at the beginning of the academic year to identify students who faced difficulties in reading and writing. Under the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) initiative, teachers conducted special classes to help academically weaker students strengthen their basic skills. In a significant departure from previous years, schools ensured the syllabus was completed by Dec. This enabled students to use the remaining months for revision, mock tests and preparatory examinations. One of the key initiatives this year is the Mission 40+ programme, introduced for the first time with the goal of ensuring that every student scores at least 40 marks in each subject. As part of the initiative, subject-wise blueprints highlighting important chapters were prepared and distributed to students so they could focus on likely examination questions. Lesson-based assessments and practice sessions using four model question papers were also conducted to familiarise students with the examination pattern and improve their confidence. To ensure effective implementation of these initiatives, nodal officers were appointed to monitor schools. Each officer was assigned four to six schools to track academic progress and guide teachers. The FLN programme focuses on ensuring that children achieve 17 key learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy. Teachers and headmasters have been instructed to support students who lag, while inspection teams verify progress at the ground level. 29-point strategy Another major intervention is the 29-point SSLC Improvement Programme, which includes several measures aimed at improving results. These include completing the syllabus by Dec, organising remedial teaching and special classes, conducting bimonthly parent-teacher meetings and strengthening attendance monitoring to reduce absenteeism.