‘pa..dh…padh’
Salman* was sounding out the letters to form a word. The tall, shy 12-year-old was a pleasure to teach. We were proud of his swift progress in our afternoon literacy class, and looked forward to the day we could help mainstream him in a regular school.
Imagine our surprise when we learnt Salman was already in school! He studied in Grade 5 at a local government primary school. Tragically, in five years of education, he had not yet learnt how to read a two-letter word in his mother tongue.
For decades, India’s education policy has focused on the challenge of building schools and getting kids into them. At independence, India had just 1.4 lakh schools. Today, the number is more than 10 times greater. In 1990, the average adult in India had attained just 4 years of schooling. Today, it is 8 years.
But increasingly, policymakers are recognising that simply getting children into school is not enough. Unless children like Salman learn key skills – especially foundational literacy and numeracy – mere school attendance will not make a difference in their lives.
The National Education Policy 2020 is explicit in focusing on foundational literacy and numeracy: “We are currently in a learning crisis: a large proportion of students currently in elementary school – estimated to be over 5 crore in number – have not attained foundational literacy and numeracy… The highest priority of the education system will be to achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy in primary school… The rest of this Policy will become relevant for our students only if this most basic learning requirement (i.e., reading, writing, and arithmetic at the foundational level) is first achieved.”
To this end, the launch of the NIPUN Bharat Initiative (National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy), is highly encouraging. NIPUN aims to ensure that all children attain key foundational skills by Grade 3, by 2026-27. It is a welcome change to prioritise FLN, however, the program’s efficacy depends on addressing three key challenges:
Pedagogical Transformation
NEP 2020 calls for a paradigm shift in teaching methods, moving from traditional rote memorization to more student-centred, activity-based approaches. However, many teachers in India are still trained in outdated methods, and professional development opportunities are unevenly distributed across the country.
NIPUN Bharat’s success hinges on improving teacher training and ensuring they are equipped with new pedagogical skills that support foundational learning. Programs like Accelerating Learning for All (ALfA) which use paired learning to engage all students are a key part of this pedagogical transformation. Rather than memorizing the alphabet, in ALfA, children build derive sounds from known pictures and blend them together to form words from the very first day.
2. Diverse Socio-Cultural and Linguistic Contexts
The linguistic diversity of India poses a challenge, as children often speak different languages at home than the medium of instruction at school. NEP 2020 emphasizes multilingual education, urging schools to teach in local languages wherever possible, but the implementation of this policy is complex, especially in regions where teacher recruitment and training lag behind.
ALfA, which is available in 15 Indian languages, can play a part in enabling children to learn effectively in their mother tongue.
3. Digital Education
NEP 2020 envisions an education system where digital tools and interactive learning materials play a crucial role in bridging gaps. However, many schools, particularly in rural areas, lack access to basic infrastructure such as electricity, classrooms, or digital devices. The ALfA pedagogy and materials are also available as a free app, LiteracyNow, enabling children to learn at home through fun games and videos.
Conclusion
The NIPUN Bharat Initiative, rooted in the framework of NEP 2020, has the potential to revolutionize foundational learning in India. If effectively implemented, NIPUN Bharat will not only improve educational outcomes but also empower millions of children to reach their full potential, helping India achieve its vision of universal education excellence. The Accelerating Learning for All program can help India achieve NIPUN goals by providing a decentralised, digital, multilingual, learner-centred education. Millions of children like Salman are waiting, eager to learn. How much longer must they wait?
*Name changed for privacy
Shared By: Dr. Sunita Gandhi,
Founder DEVI Sansthan
