Lok Sabha Question No. 1863 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-19
Subject: Implementation of NIPUN Bharat Misson
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Sanganna Amarappa Karadi, L.S. Tejasvi Surya, Prathap Simha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1863

ANSWERED ON 19/12/2022

## Implementation of NIPUN Bharat Mission

1863.   SHRI  SANGANNA AMARAPPA: SHRI L.S. TEJASVI SURYA: SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the progress of the implementation of the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN) Bharat Mission;
- (b) the measures taken to improve teaching and learning practices and learning outcomes of children in primary schools;
- (c) the steps taken to encourage community participation in NIPUN Bharat;
- (d) the details of the best practices from districts/States; and
- (e) the specific measures taken to ensure that children with special needs/underprivileged background also receive the requisite Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) skills?

## ANSWER

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

- (a): As  per  the  recommendation  of  NEP  2020,  under  Samagra  Shiksha,  a  dedicated mission 'National  Initiative  for  Proficiency  in  Reading  with  Understanding  and  Numeracy' (NIPUN Bharat) was launched by the  government  on  5 th   July  2021,  for  ensuring  that  every child  in  the  country  necessarily  attains  foundational  literacy  and  numeracy  by  Grade  3  by 2026-27. For this purpose, a curricular framework for foundational stage, engaging teachinglearning material both for teachers and students (online and offline), defined and measurable learning  outcomes,  teacher  capacity  building  programme,  assessment  techniques  including

tracking the achievement of learning outcomes, addressing the needs of children's health and well-being  including  nutrition  etc.  has  been  developed  to  take  it  forward  in  a  systematic fashion through a 5-tier implementation mechanism.

So  far,  the  major  initiatives  have  been  taken  under  NIPUN  Bharat  Mission  includes constitution  of  National  Steering  Committee  for  the  implementation  of  NIPUN  Bharat Mission;  development  of  Vidya  Pravesh  Guidelines  and  Module  for  Grade  I,   launch  of NISHTHA-FLN for teachers and school heads of preschool to Grade V, launch of NISHTHA ECCE  for-master  trainers/  resource  persons  for  training  of  preschool  teachers/Anganwadi workers; conduct of Foundational Learning Study (FLS); creation of DIKSHA FLN portal for availability  of  FLN  resources;  conduct  of  100  Days  Reading  Campaign;  development  of Guidelines  for  Parent  Participation  in  Home-based  Learning  during  School  Closure  and Beyond;  development  of  Guidelines  for  Community  Engagement  in  Foundational  Learning; Training  of  Academic  Task  Force  (ATF)  and  District  Task  Force  Members  (DTFs); organization of National Conference on Initiatives in Foundational Learning: Voices from the Ground  to  exchange  best  practices,  share  status  and  understand  challenges;  and  continuous tracking and monitoring of the mission implementation in all the states and UTs.

## (b): Following measures have been taken in this regard:

Launched  exclusive  teacher  training  programmes  named  as  NISHTHA  FLN  and NISHTHA ECCE. Under NISHTHA FLN so far 11,95,875 teachers have been trained.  Apart from  that,  34,006  teachers  of  CBSE,  ICSE  and  other  institutions  have  also  been  trained.  In order to assist teachers, parents and children, so far 1662 learning outcome-wise e-resources have been developed and uploaded on DIKSHA FLN which includes infographics, byte sized videos, ready to use worksheets and assessment tools for creating understanding and awareness about  the  learning  outcomes  given  in  NIPUN  Bharat  Mission  guidelines.  Vidya  Pravesh programme was also launched to ensure all children in Grade-I are school ready. So far, Vidya Pravesh  programme  has  been  implemented  in  32  States/UTs.  Apart  from  that,   MoE  has conducted a 12 days training programme for ATF at state level and  DTF at district level for all the states/UTs for deepening their understanding on both academic and administrative aspects of NIPUN Bharat Mission who would further provide support to the teachers and parents. This program was attended /watched by more than 50000 participants across the nation. Posters on NIPUN  Bharat  Mission  Lakshayas,  NIPUN  Bharat  Pledge  and  Developmental  Goal-wise Learning Outcomes have been shared with the States/ UTs, line ministries and other related institutions (NCERT, CBSE, AICTE, KVS, etc.)  to display in all schools and institutions for public awareness.

(c): Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy,  MoE  has  launched  two  documents for engaging parents and community members and sharing best practices from studies across countries  to  maximize  parent  and  community  involvement.  These  include  'Guidelines  for parent participation in home  based learning during school closure and beyond' and 'Community engagement in foundational learning: Initiatives and Studies Across Countries'.

## (d): Best practices from some states/districts-

In Madhya Pradesh, a dedicated IT team at Rajya Shiksha Kendra has developed an IT based system  for  monitoring  the  Key  Performance  Indicator  (KPIs)  for  FLN.  Uttar  Pradesh  has developed mobile based application to monitor the FLN activities by BRC/CRC/Mentors and generate  quick  reports  for  decision  making.  Uttar  Pradesh  and  Madhya  Pradesh  both  have instituted District NIPUN FLN fellowship program where 1 or 2 smart young professionals are being placed in each district to support implementation of  NIPUN Bharat Mission. Manipur has developed comic textbooks to make the reading more interesting for children. Punjab has introduced the programme 'Library Langar' for strengthening reading comprehension skills by introducing reading material other than textbooks.

(e): Specific  measures  taken  to  ensure  that  children  with  special  needs/underprivileged background also receive the requisite FLN skills:

NIPUN Bharat Mission Implementation Guidelines gives direction and specific guidelines for teachers  and  teacher  educators  on  classroom  practices  and  learning  assessments  to  ensure holistic development of children with special needs. It lays emphasis in assessing their needs at an early stage to  plan specific  interventions  to  support  them  and  directs  them  to  design  and conduct activities with flexibility in class to accommodate the different learning needs of the children with special needs. Vidya Pravesh programme is an integral part of NIPUN Bharat Mission  that  is  designed  to  cater  to  all  children  irrespective  of  their  socio-economic  and cultural background. Vidya Pravesh Guidelines and Module have been prepared to ensure all Grade-I children are school ready. Accordingly, specific directions are given for the teachers and  parents  for  addressing  the  needs  of  Children  With  Special  Needs  (Divyang)  in  the classroom. It also suggests ways to support parents and such children with the help of special educators in school. During the training programme organized by the MoE for ATF and DTF

members of all the states/UTs, dedicated sessions were organised on 'Inclusion' and 'Children With  Special  Needs'.  Various  strategies  and  ways  to  address  the  needs  of  such  children, especially, using technology have also been discussed in other sessions during the training.

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