Lok Sabha Question No. 5880 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-30
Subject: Role of NIPUN Bharat in Early Childhood Care and Education
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Dushyant Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5880 ANSWERED ON 30/03/2026

## Role of NIPUN Bharat in Early Childhood Care and Education

## 5880. Shri Dushyant Singh:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  the  details  of  interventions  undertaken  under  NIPUN  Bharat  to  strengthen  Early Childhood  Care  and  Education  (ECCE)  curriculum,  pedagogy  and  learning  materials  in schools and Anganwadi centres to achieve Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) by Grade 3 by 2026-27;

(b) the details of the steps taken for training and capacity building of Anganwadi workers and teachers to align with FLN objectives;

(c)  the  details  of  mechanisms  for  convergence  between  the  Ministries  of  Education  and Women  &  Child  Development  to  ensure  a  smooth  transition  from  ECCE  to  primary education;

(d) the details of monitoring framework adopted for periodic review of  ECCE implementation, particularly in aspirational and underserved regions such as the JhalawarBaran Lok Sabha Parliamentary Constituency; and

(e) whether any assessment of learning readiness and outcomes has been conducted and the details thereof, district-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) The Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of Education (MoE)  has  launched  a  National  Mission  called  ' National  Initiative  for  Proficiency  in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat Mission (NBM)) ' on 5 th July, 2021 for ensuring that  every  child  in  the  country  necessarily  attains  foundational  literacy and  numeracy  (FLN)  by  the  end  of  Grade  2.  Under  the  NBM,  the  following  systemic interventions  have  been  undertaken  to  strengthen  curriculum,  pedagogy  and  learning materials in schools and Anganwadi centers (AWCs):

(i) A 3-months play based 'School Preparation Module and Guidelines' for Grade I named  ' Vidya  Pravesh '  was  launched  on  29 th July,  2021.  The  goal  of  Vidya  Pravesh programme  is  to  promote  school  preparedness  in  all  children  coming  to  Grade-I  from diverse  backgrounds  (Balvatika,  AWCs,  at  home,  private  play  schools  etc.),  to  ensure  a smooth transition of children to Grade-I. It provides play based, age and developmentally appropriate learning experiences in a joyful and stimulating environment leading to holistic development to bolster a child's pre-literacy, pre-numeracy, cognitive and social skills. This programme  is  implemented  across  the  country.  From  2022-23  till  date,  over  4.20  crore students in around 8.90 lakh schools have benefitted.

(ii) To improve the learning outcomes at foundational stage, the National Curricular Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) was released on 20 th October, 2022 providing a structure for the syllabus, training of teachers, Learning Teaching Material (LTM), etc.

(iii)  The Jaadui Pitara (JP),  a  set  of  53  play-based learning-teaching materials for ages 3-8 was launched on 20 th February 2023. Available in 22 Indian languages, JP includes toys,  puzzles,  story  cards,  flashcards,  and  teacher  handbooks.  Its  digital  extension,  the eJaadui Pitara , launched on 10 th February 2024, offers multilingual stories, activities, songs in 22 Indian languages, and AI-based botsKatha Sakhi, Teacher Tara, and Parent Tara -to support children, teachers, and parents. As envisaged in NEP 2020, these initiatives are an integral part of the foundational stage.

(iv) Primers (launched in March, 2024) have been developed in 121 local and tribal languages for FLN in mother tongues spoken by populations of at least 10,000.

(v) Lakshyas or Targets for FLN starting from the Balvatika-3 upto Grade-2, based on  the  learning  outcomes  have  been  developed  on  the  basis  of  national  and  international research.

(b) Pre-service teacher education programmes are regulated by the National Council for Teacher  Education  (NCTE),  with  emphasis  on  teacher  preparation  for  the  foundational stage.  In  this  context,  the  Integrated  Teacher  Education  Programme  (ITEP)  has  been introduced  as  a  four-year  integrated  degree  programme  that  prepares  teachers  for  school education, including  the foundational  stage, by  integrating  child  development,  early childhood care and education (ECCE), play-based and activity-based pedagogy, and FLN, along with early and continuous school internships. In addition, the DoSE&L has launched a national  initiative  to  improve  learning  outcomes  through  an  integrated  teacher  training programme  called  the National  Initiative  for  School  Heads'  and  Teachers'  Holistic Advancement  (NISHTHA) under  Samagra  Shiksha.  NISHTHA  supports  large-scale  inservice  teacher  capacity  building  and  includes  training  modules  for  primary  teachers focusing on pedagogy, FLN, inclusive education and classroom practices, and is implemented in coordination with the States and Union Territories through face-to-face and online modes. More than 15.57 lakh users including pre-primary teachers, master trainers and Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) have completed NISHTHA online training program for FLN & ECCE. Besides, these states are also conducting physical trainings of teachers at State level.

Further, as informed by the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD), under  the  Poshan  Bhi  Padhai  Bhi  (PBPB)  initiative,  training  is  imparted  to  AWWs  to strengthen  their  capacities  for  effective  delivery  of  ECCE  through  Aadharshila  ECCE curriculum for children of 3-6 years of age. As on 24 th  March 2026, 10,54,814 AWWs have been trained under round 1 of the PBPB.

Besides, a joint advisory was issued by the Ministry of Education and MoWCD on 2 nd April  2025  wherein  States/Unition  Territories  (UTs)  were  advised  to  promote  joint training  of  AWWs  and  pre-primary  teachers  in  collaboration  with  National  Council  of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), State Councils of Educational Research and

Training  (SCERTs), District  Institutes  of  Education  and  Training  (DIETs),  and  Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Children (SPNIWCD).

(c) In  the  new 5+3+3+4 structure of the National Education Policy 2020,  for the first time,  3  years  of  pre-schools  (3-6  years  of  age)  including  Balvatikas  and  AWCs,  is recognized  as  a  continuum  of  education.  The  Government  is  adopting  a  whole-ofgovernment approach to ensure convergence in the implementation of initiatives related to ECCE.

As part of the whole-of-government approach, the DoSE&L and the MoWCD have jointly  launched  the  ' Guidelines  for  co-location  of  Anganwadi  Centres  with  schools '  on 03.09.2025. These guidelines ensure school preparedness and smooth transition of children from  the  AWC to  Grade  I  in  primary  schools.  They  also  provide  for  better  linkages  and convergence between AWCs and primary schools. As per UDISE+ 2024-25, out of 9,11,035 Government and Government-aided schools with Grade 1, more than 4.81 lakh schools have some  form  of  preschool  education  facilities,  either  AWC  or  Balvatika  or  both.  Through various communications like joint advisories, letters, video conferences etc., all States/UTs have  been  advised  to  work  together  for  ECCE  along  with  the  Department  of  Health  at ground level.

(d) The  Government  of  India  has  introduced  the  'Automated  Permanent  Academic Account  Registry  (APAAR)'  as  part  of  the  academic  framework  to  strengthen  the monitoring  of  actual  learning  outcomes.  This  initiative  is  part  of  the  'One  Nation,  One Student ID' initiative in line with the NEP 2020, and serves as a unique, lifelong academic ID for every student. It records their academic journey from the foundational stage onwards, including academic achievements, co-curricular activities, skill development, assessments, and basic  health  records.  This  digital  system  ensures  continuity  of  learning,  aids  dropout recovery, and enables timely academic updates for parents, teachers, and institutions.

Further,  APAAR  is  integrated  with  the  Holistic  Progress  Card  (HPC),  which captures  a  360-degree  view  of  a  student's  development  through  competency-based  and formative assessment. HPC is a multidimensional report of progress, that reflects in detail the  progress  as  well  as  the  uniqueness  of  each  learner  in  the  cognitive,  affective,  socioemotional, and psychomotor domains. It helps to map the status of each child's learning for FLN  skills.  The  data  from  the  HPC  is  linked  to  Vidya  Samiksha  Kendra  (VSK),  a centralized data analytics platform that monitors student progress, identifies learning gaps, and  supports  targeted  interventions.  Together,  APAAR,  HPC,  and  VSK  create  a  digital, data-driven  ecosystem  supporting  digital  transformation  goals  of  NIPUN  Bharat  Mission, and the broader Samagra Shiksha initiative allowing continuous tracking of each student's progress,  ensuring  accountability  and  improved  learning  outcomes  across  all  stages  of education.

Moreover, as per the information received from the State Government of Rajasthan, ECCE has been institutionalized as a key agenda in district review meetings, where progress on  implementation,  availability of learning materials, training status,  and  classroom practices  are  regularly  assessed.  ECCE  has  also  been  regularly  discussed  in  the  district review meetings of Jhalawar and Baran.

(e) PARAKH Rashtriya  Sarvekshan  (PRS),  2024  has  been  conducted  to  evaluate  the learning competencies/outcomes of students in FLN, Language and Mathematics at the end of each of the educational stages i.e. Foundational, Preparatory and Middle in Grades 3, 6 & 9. The latest PRS, 2024 was conducted on 4 th December, 2024.  The state/district-wise PRS 2024 report has  been  officially  released  in  public  domain  on  2 nd July,  2025.  This  can  be accessed at https://dashboard.parakh.ncert.gov.in/en. PRS 2024 reflects that the performance of children in Grade 3 in rural schools is better than urban schools and government schools have outperformed the private schools at  foundational  stage,  indicating  early  success  and impact of NBM.

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