Lok Sabha Question No. 5176 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-04-03
Subject: Decline in Basic Reading and Mathematical Abilities among School Children
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Ravneet Singh, D. Ravikumar, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO -5176 ANSWERED ON -03/04/2023

## Decline in Basic Reading and Mathematical Abilities among School Children

## 5176. SHRI RAVNEET SINGH BITTU: SHRI RAVIKUMAR D.:

SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether it is true that as per the Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) there has been  a  sharp  decline  in  school  children's  basic  reading  ability  besides  a  dip  in mathematical abilities in the country;
- (b)    if  so,  the  details  thereof,  State/UT-wise  especially  in  Punjab  along  with  the  reasons therefor;
- (c)   whether it is true that as per the ASER survey, there has also been a jump in the number of students taking private tuitions in the country;
- (d)  if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise and especially in Punjab along with the reasons therefor;
- (e)  whether the Government is taking any measures to improve the reading and mathematical abilities of the students in the country and reduce the dependency on private tuitions in the country; and
- (f)    if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SMT. ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a)  to  (f): Achievement survey released in the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is conducted by a non-governmental organization.

However,  The  Government  of  India  has  been  implementing  a  programme  of  sample based National Achievement Survey (NAS) aimed to measure Learning Outcomes at classes III, V, VIII and X with a cycle period of three years. The latest round of NAS i.e. NAS 2021 was held on 12.11.2021 and has covered (a) Government Schools (Central Government and State Government); (b) Government Aided Schools; and (c) Private Unaided Schools. Subjects covered are Language, Mathematics & EVS for class 3 & 5; Language, Mathematics, Science & Social Science for class 8 and Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Science and English for class 10.  About 34 lakh students of 1.18 lakh schools from both rural and urban areas, have appeared  in  NAS  2021.  National,  State/UT  and  District  Reports  for  NAS  2021  have  been released on 25.5.2022 and are available at http://nas.gov.in.

Further, Foundational learning Study (FLS) - an assessment & benchmarking study for foundational  learning  was  administered  in  March,  2022  by  National  Council  of  Educational

Research and Training (NCERT) at the national level in 20 different languages. Approximately 86,000  grade  3  students  from  10,000  schools  were  covered  and  the  survey  result  can  be accessed at https://dsel.education.gov.in/fls\_2022.

Following initiatives have been taken by Department of School Education & Literacy to improve the foundational literacy and numeracy skills of students:

- National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN) Bharat Mission has been launched for the period 2021-22 to 2026-27 on 5th July 2021 which aims to ensure that all the children achieve foundational learning standards by the end of grade 3,by the year 2026-27.
- A  3-month  play  based  preparedness  programme  for  children  entering  grade  I named VidyaPravesh has been designed to help teachers ensure that all children are  exposed  to  a  warm  and  welcoming  environment,  leading  to  their  smooth transition to formal school.
- The  National  Curriculum  Framework  for  Foundational  Stage  (NCF-FS)  was launched  on  20th  October  2022  which  includes  engaging  Teaching-Learning Material  (TLM)  both  for  teachers  and  students,  teacher  capacity  building programme,  assessment  and  pedagogical  approaches  to  guide  the  nature  of syllabus, textbooks and other resource material for teaching and learning in the country to be used at the foundational stage.
- JaaduiPitara was recently released on 20th February, 2023 for the foundational stage  under  the  NCF-FS  with  the  motto  'Learning  through  play'.  It  is  an exemplar of content needed in any school for the Foundational Stage.
- National  Initiative  for  School  Heads'  and  Teachers'  Holistic  Advancement (NISHTHA)  training  programmes  in  FLN  and  ECCE  are  being  run  to  train teachers across the country

****