Context: The Union government launched a new scheme called NIPUN to improve foundational reading, numeracy and understanding for early-stage students.
About NIPUN Bharat Mission

• NIPUN stands for National Initiative for Proficiency in reading with Understanding and Numeracy.
• The scheme will provide an “enabling environment to ensure universal acquisition of foundational literacy and numeracy, so that every child achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing, and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27.
• The scheme will be implemented by the Department of School Education and Literacy of the Ministry of Education.
• A five-tier implementation mechanism will be set up across national, state, district, block, and school levels in all states and Union territories.
• This new initiative is going to be part of the flagship school education programme.

Why such scheme has been launched?

• Foundational learning has been a constant drawback in Indian schools.
• The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) findings released by education non-profit Pratham has that a bulk of the Indian students pursuing elementary education in schools cannot even read, understand or do basic arithmetic.
• At least 25% of school-going children in the four-eight age group do not have age-appropriate cognitive and numeracy skills, resulting in a massive learning deficit at a very early stage.
• A mere 37.4% of children below the age of six are able to recognize at least letters and only 25.6% can do additions.
• Only 34.8% of children in Class II can read a text meant for those enrolled in classes below them.
• In Class III, only 50.8% can read texts meant for students two levels below them.

Expected Outcomes

• Foundational skills enable to keep children in class thereby reducing the dropouts and improve transition rate from primary to upper primary and secondary stages.
• Activity based learning and a conducive learning environment will improve the quality of education.
• Innovative pedagogies such as toy-based and experiential learning will be used in classroom transactions thereby making learning a joyful and engaging activity.
• Intensive capacity building of teachers will make them empowered and provide greater autonomy for choosing the pedagogy.
• Holistic development of the child by focusing on different domains of development like physical and motor development, socio-emotional development, literacy and numeracy development, cognitive development, life skills etc. which are interrelated and interdependent, which will be reflected in a Holistic Progress Card.
• Children to achieve a steeper learning trajectory which may have positive impacts on later life outcomes and employment.

Since almost every child attends early grades, therefore, focus at that stage will also benefit the socio-economic disadvantageous group thus ensuring access to equitable and inclusive quality education.