Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Report

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Report

Dr. Bibek Debroy, Chairperson of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) announced the publication of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) report's second edition.

Regarding the FLN report:

• It is the capacity of a young child (between the ages of 3 and 8 years old) to read and solve simple addition and subtraction mathematical equations.
• The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 includes it as one of its primary components.
• It serves as a benchmark to measure how well states and UTs are doing in providing universal basic education by 2026–2027.
• Its conclusions address the importance of nutrition, digital technology access, and language-focused training.
• This report emphasizes the value of language as a fundamental ability and the development of early literacy.
• It was created by Harvard Business School's Institute for Competitiveness, India.
• It conveys the key ideas kids need to develop as proficient readers and underlines the unique difficulties encountered in a multilingual context.
• The study includes a section on the different programs being carried out at the federal and state levels to accomplish the NIPUN's basic learning objectives.

Report Findings:

• The importance of language in education and the specific difficulties encountered in a bilingual setting are both highlighted.
• The foundational ideas kids need to develop reading proficiency.
• Using the right evaluations and teaching methods to improve learning results.

Recommendations:

• Integration of the teaching method and use of kid-friendly terminology is necessary.
• Make a variety of assessments of the linguistic system, which includes phonology, vocabulary, and syntax, and the orthographic system, which includes symbols and mapping principles, as well as the writing mechanisms.
• On the pedagogical framework and education in India, there is a need for data monitoring coupled with precisely specified outcome-based measures.

Initiatives to promote FLN:

• Established in 2017, DIKSHA, or the Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing, is a nationwide portal of the NCERT where teachers may access interactive and intriguing teaching resources to spice up their lessons.
• The NIPUN Bharat Mission was established in 2021 with the goal of guaranteeing that by the conclusion of the third grade in 2026–2027, every child in the nation has acquired fundamental literacy.
• NISHTHA: A brand-new training program (in FLN) that the NCERT has established for both teachers and school administrators.
• The National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Skills 2022: help enhance pupils' fundamental skills, one of the NEP 2020's primary priority areas.
• Recently, the learning and teaching resource "jadui pitara" for the early stages of schooling was introduced.

About NIPUN Bharat Scheme (National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy):

• Commenced as a component of NEP (National Education Policy) 2020.
• It aims to meet the educational needs of kids between the ages of 3 and 9.
• It focuses on ensuring access and student retention during the formative years of schooling, improving teacher capacity, creating high-quality, diversified student and teacher resources/learning materials, and monitoring each child's progress in reaching learning objectives.
• The Department of School Education and Literacy administers NIPUN Bharat.

About Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister:

• It is an independent agency that provides economic and policy advice to the government, in particular the prime minister.
• Established in September 2017 with a two-year tenure to replace the former PMEAC,

Function:

• Examining any issue—economic or otherwise—that the Prime Minister refers to it and providing advice to him on it.
• Handling macroeconomic concerns and providing the Prime Minister with thoughts thereon, either on its own or in response to a reference.
• Reports on "macroeconomic events and issues with consequences for economic policy" are occasionally presented to the PM.