NIPUN Bharat for Foundational Literacy Launched

Vinod Kakumanu
Aug. 2, 2021, 11:42 a.m.

The Education Ministry has launched National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat). The objective of the initiative is to make foundational literacy and numeracy a given for every child before he passes the 3rd grade (3-9 years). This has to be achieved by 2026-27.

NIPUN Bharat has been launched under the Samagra Siksha scheme, which in turn comes under the NEP 2020.

Under NIPUN the focus will be on enhancing the retention of children in school in the foundational years, capacity-building of teachers, and enrichment and diversification of teaching-learning resources along with individualized tracking of student progress.

The initiative is in congruence with the NEP that stresses that imparting foundational literacy and numeracy in crucial early stages should be akin to a national mission.

The features of the initiative which stand out include the “Lakshya Soochi" or a table of goals for foundational literacy and numeracy.

“Lakshyas” or the goals have been set from Balvatika onwards. This has been done to prepare the children in advance and create awareness among the parents and community volunteers.

Reportedly, the “Laskhyas” has been set on the basis of the learning outcomes developed by the NCERT, international research, and ORF-studies.