Lok Sabha Question No. 171 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-01
Subject: Artificial Intelligence Literacy in Schools
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 171 ANSWERED ON 01.12.2025

## Artificial Intelligence Literacy in Schools

## 171. Shri Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is considering to priorities the foundational learning up to the age of 12 years and provide literacy and skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the student of middle school;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (c) the funds spent by the Government thereon?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (c): The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, in para 2.2 emphasises attaining foundational literacy and numeracy for all children under age of 11 years as an urgent national mission. It states that 'Attaining Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) for all children will thus become an urgent national mission, with immediate measures to be taken  on  many  fronts  and  with  clear  goals  that  will  be  attained  in  the  short  term, including that every student will attain foundational literacy and numeracy by Grade 3.' In alignment with NEP 2020, the Government of India launched the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN) Bharat Mission to ensure that every child attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 2  which  correspond  to  age  group  of  3  to  8  years..  To  support  this  mission  digitally, Digital  Infrastructure  for  Knowledge  Sharing (DIKSHA)  hosts  a  dedicated  NIPUN Bharat vertical, providing organized Foundational Literacy & Numeracy (FLN) aligned content,  teacher  training  modules,  and  multilingual  teaching-learning  resources  for educators,  students,  and  parents,  and  the  NIPUN  Bharat  vertical  has  2,446  e-contents available on DIKSHA. DIKSHA is supporting the FLN vision through the e-Jaadui Pitara initiative,  which  is  a  digital  and  physical  repository  of  play-based,  age-appropriate learning  resources  for  the  foundational  stage.  The  e-Jaadui  Pitara  mobile  app  offers interactive stories, games, rhymes, activities and multimedia content designed to enhance early language and numeracy development. It supports joyful, experiential learning both in  schools  and  at  home,  and  also  enables  parental  engagement  in  the  child's  early learning  journey.  The  e-Jaadui  Pitara  app  has  789  e-contents  available.  Apart  from  eJaadui  Pitara  physical  Jaadui  Pitara(JP)    was  launched  on  20th  February  2023,  JP  is  a collection of 53 Learning-Teaching Materials (LTM) (toys, games, puzzles, story cards, etc.)  for  children aged 3-6 years in 23 languages. Play and activity-based textbooks for classes 1 and 2 have also been prepared and shared with States/UTs (Hindi- 'Sarangi', English-  'Mridang',  'Mathematics-  Joyful-Mathematics  and  Anandmay-Ganit'  and Urdu- 'Shahnai') fulfilling NEP 2020 and NCF-FS (National Curricular Framework for Foundational  Stage)  recommendations.  Primers  in  121  Local  Languages  have  been d eveloped for foundational literacy and  numeracy  in  mother  tongues  spoken  by populations of at least 10,000.

The  NEP  2020  emphasizes  on  developing  relevant  concepts  and  attaining  requisite competencies  to  facilitate  optimal  learning  when  children  start  schooling.  Keeping  in focus  the  holistic  development,  3  months  play  based  'School  Preparation  Module  and Guidelines' for Grade I named 'Vidya Pravesh' was launched on 29th July, 2021. The goal  of  Vidya  Pravesh  programme  is  to  promote  school  preparedness  in  all  children coming to Grade- I from diverse backgrounds (Balvatika, Anganwadi Centers (AWCs), at home, private play schools etc.), to ensure a smooth transition of children to Grade-I. This Programme is being implemented across the country. From 2022-23 till date, over 4.2 crore students in 8.9 lakh schools have benefitted.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has undertaken several measures to strengthen Foundational and Preparatory Stage learning in its affiliated schools including adoption  of  the  5+3+3+4  structure  and  rollout  of  Balvatika  in  25,000+  schools, mandatory use of Indian languages as medium of instruction from Balvatika to Class II, shift  to  competency-focussed  pedagogy  aligned  with  NCERT  Learning  Outcomes, mandatory Experiential and Art-Integrated Learning, Holistic Progress Card, Structured Assessment  for  Analyzing  Learning  (SAFAL)  key-stage  diagnostic  assessments  for Grades 3 and 5, and continued emphasis on play-based, inquiry-based and multilingual learning.

The NEP 2020 has emphasized the importance of AI and its role in school curriculum. Under  'Curricular  Integration  of  Essential  Subjects,  Skills,  and  Capacities'  the  policy mentions  that  '4.24.  Concerted  curricular  and  pedagogical  initiatives,  including  the introduction  of  contemporary  subjects  such  as  Artificial  Intelligence,  Design  Thinking, Holistic Health, Organic Living, Environmental Education, Global Citizenship Education (GCED), etc.  at  relevant  stages  will  be  undertaken  to  develop  these  various  important skills in students at all levels'. The existing NCERT textbooks of Computer Science class XI (Chapter 3) (https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php?kecs1=ps-11) and Informatics Practices class  XI  (Chapter  2)  (https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php?keip1=ps-8)    talk  about  AI,  IoT and other emerging technologies. CBSE offers Artificial Intelligence as a skill module of classes VI-VIII and as a skill-based subject in classes IX-XII. NCERT has also included a  project  on  Animation  and  Games  in  the  vocational  education  textbook  for  Grade  6 which includes the use of AI tools.

Further, the Government of India has launched the SOAR (Skilling for AI Readiness), a national initiative in alignment with the objectives of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the National Programme on AI (NPAI) Skilling Framework and Viksit Bharat 2047 vision of digital empowerment and inclusive growth. SOAR is aimed at embedding AI awareness  and  foundational  competencies  among  school  students  (Classes  6-12)  and building AI literacy among educators. The programme seeks to bridge the digital divide by ensuring equitable access to AI education across geographies, thereby supporting the national agenda of inclusive, future-ready skilling. The SOAR curriculum comprises four progressive  National  Skills  Qualification  Framework  (NSQF)-aligned  modules.  For students of classes 6 to 12, three distinct micro-credentials: (i) AI to be Aware, (ii) AI to Acquire, and (iii) AI to Aspire, are offered, each of 15 hours duration, amounting to 45 hours in total. These cover fundamental AI concepts, practical programming, ethical and responsible AI usage, and career opportunities in technology. For educators, one 45-hour module  titled  AI  for  Educators  provides  comprehensive  training  in  AI  concepts, pedagogical strategies, and practical classroom application. State/UT Governments have been  requested  to  raise  awareness  about  these  courses  and  encourage  schools  to implement  the  SOAR  initiative  and  organize  capacity-building  workshops  for  various stakeholders.

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