The Prayas ePathshala

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Context:

The 2021 Human Development Index, which evaluates a country’s health, average income, and level of education, places India 132 out of 191 nations. The reduction in India’s ranking after the Covid-19 pandemic coincided with a global decline in HDI ratings.

About HDI 2021:

The HDI is a composite indicator that evaluates average achievement in human development while taking into account four factors, according to the UNDP’s newly issued Human Development Report (HDR) 2021–2022.

In each of these four areas in 2021, India lagged behind global averages:

Average life expectancy is 71.4 years, with 8.6 years of education completed and a yearly gross national income (GNI) (2017 PPP$) of $16,752.

India’s educational environment:

A National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (NMFLN) will be established, in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020, “on priority… for attaining universal foundational literacy and numeracy in all primary schools, identifying state-wise targets and goals to be achieved by 2025, and closely tracking and monitoring progress of the same.”
The first education policy for the twenty-first century in India is called NEP 2020. It is based on the proposals for educational policy made by the Kasturirangan committee. The National Policy on Education (NPE), which had been in effect for 34 years, was superseded with this policy.
The new approach aims to increase primary school students’ reading and math competency levels, lower middle and secondary school dropout rates, and provide a multidisciplinary approach to higher education.
The policy also emphasises early childhood care, updates exams and evaluations, changes to the curriculum and pedagogy, expands teacher evaluation, and invests in teacher development.

FLN stands for foundational literacy and numeracy:

The FLN measures how well a kid can read and do basic math operations (such as addition and subtraction). For all subsequent academic pursuits and for lifelong learning, FLN is an essential component and a necessity.
The State of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in India in 2021 is the title of a study published by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM). In order to achieve long-term improved learning results, it emphasises the significance of carefully developed early interventions, such as the National Education Policy (2020) and the NIPUN Bharat guidelines.

NIPUN India:

This programme is being introduced as a part of NEP 2020. (National Education Policy). Every kid will have developed the requisite reading, writing, and numeracy skills by 2026–2027. Its goal is to establish a setting that encourages everyone to learn the fundamentals of literacy and numeracy.

Areas of focus:

Accessibility and retention of students during the foundational years of school teacher capacity building provision of high-quality and diverse resources/learning materials following each student’s progress in reaching learning objectives
The Department of School Education and Literacy will be in charge of implementing NIPUN Bharat. The government-funded Samagra Shiksha plan will establish a five-tier implementation framework at the National, State, District, Block, and School levels in all States and UTs.
The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), and Teacher Education were all part of the “Samagra Shiksha” initiative (TE). The programme tries to tackle education from preschool to class XII holistically.
NCERT is creating a unique foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) curriculum as part of NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement). The goal of the NISHTHA programme is to “Improve the Quality of School Education through Integrated Teacher Training.”

Way Forward:

All children have been enrolled in school since the Jomtien Conference adopted the World Declaration on Education for All in 1990.
The Shiksha Karmi Project was implemented in schools the year before the meeting to address teacher absenteeism in distant Rajasthani communities. Participation of the local people was essential to the project. The project was successful in developing instructors thanks to the help and training of locals.
The Lok Jumbish, sometimes referred to as the Peoples Movement for Education for All, was established in Rajasthan in 1992. This approach showed effectiveness, especially in tribal districts, by emphasising innovations and developing cooperation with the civil society. However, the mainstream’s inertia continued to rule.
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which aims to provide everyone with access to a basic education, was founded in 2001. Despite increases in attendance and adjustments to the setting, including the availability of textbooks, clothing, and water, classroom procedures remain difficult.

Moving ahead:

We still lack a thorough strategy for choosing outstanding teachers and establishing schools for teacher training.
In order to ensure that everyone puts forth their best effort, the federal, state, and municipal governments must modernise governance.
Direct support for education, the absence of open teaching positions, a reduction in non-teaching tasks, and strong relationships between the community and panchayats should all be given top priority.
empowering community groups Even though numerous efforts have been done, we still need to improve parental and community involvement. For example, panchayats and women’s self-help groups (SHGs) can both contribute to ensuring that local households are in charge of the programme.
Resources can be gathered by panchayats. Communities have the power to commend and criticise instructors because they control the resources, obligations, and bureaucrats. The Panchayati Raj, Rural, and Urban Development Ministries are of the opinion that educational outcomes should be the responsibility of local governments.
The simplest way to begin accomplishing the NEP goal is to provide schools with decentralised funding that the community manages.

FLN model types:

The feasibility of offline or online teacher development programmes like Nishtha is hampered by poor governance. Poor management of schools and instructors has a negative influence on large-scale initiatives like Pratham’s Read India campaign and the Azim Premji Foundation’s to improve public schools by supporting districts and blocks of schools and teachers.
The Central Square Foundation, Room to Read, Akshara, Gyan Shala, and other civil society organisations are only a few examples of the various innovations taking place in this field, even if many of them do not seek to improve general education.
The Sampark Foundation suggests a number of solutions to the aforementioned problems. Technology is used by the Foundation to support teacher development. It makes use of modern educational materials and battery-operated audio sound boxes. It has also added a TV that enables teachers to boost learning by using worksheets, educational films, activity videos, and lesson plans.

Conclusion:

To train a generation of students who will ensure high rates of economic success and human wellbeing for India, foundational reading and arithmetic skills are required.
For some people, the transition from preschool to Class 3 can be transformative. By 2025, all children—from the Prime Minister to the tiniest Panchayat—must attend school and pursue their education.