Parliament Question: Implementation of Nipun Bharat Mission

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.16 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.07.2025 Implementation of Nipun Bharat Mission 16. Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne: Smt. Bharti Pardhi: Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state: (a) the details of the current status of implementation of Nipun Bharat with regard to achieving the target of foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) for every child by the end of class 3 by 2026- 27, in all districts of the country, especially in Maharashtra and Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh; (b) the extent to which the Government tracking individual learning progress of children under Nipun Bharat, especially for classes 1-3; (c) the details of mechanisms put in place to ensure that children who are lagging behind receive targeted support; and (d) the details of the success achieved by the Government in this regard, particularly in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (d): The Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education has launched a National Mission called “National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat)” on 5th July, 2021 for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 2. All 36 States/Union Territories (including all districts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra) are implementing NIPUN- Bharat Mission. Various initiatives under NIPUN are as follows:  Jaadui Pitara (JP), a collection of Learning Teaching Material (LTM) for 3 to 6 years age group was launched on 20th February, 2023. It is a box having 53 LTM for the foundational stage like toys, games, puzzles, puppets, posters, flashcards, story cards, play book set for students, and handbooks for teachers. The user manual and all the activity cards, picture reading posters, story cards, and instructions of JP have been translated into 22 languages.It is a giant leap towards enriching the learning-teaching environment and making it more child-centric, lively, and joyful as envisioned in the NEP 2020. It also consists of a Trainer’s Handbook ‘Unmukh’ which is a comprehensive guide for the trainers which has an activity bank for 3–6-year-old children which is mapped to PanchkoshiyaVikas and curricular goals of NCF-FS for future training of teachers at Foundational Stage. The Activity Book ‘Anand’ contains integrated worksheets to be used by children.  The e-JaaduiPitara (e-JP) was launched on 10th February 2024. The e-JP is an app and website with integration of the latest technology with play-based pedagogy and a way to disseminate the learning of JP and transcend it beyond the four walls of the classroom.  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.  National Curricular Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) was released on 20th October, 2022 providing a structure for the syllabus, Training of Teachers, Learning Teaching Material (LTM), etc.  Primers have been developed in 121 local languages for FLN learning in mother tongue. These are languages spoken by at least 10000 population.  Lakshya or Targets for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy starting from the Balvatika upto Grade 2 based on the learning outcomes have been developed on the basis of national and international research. In addition, other learning outcomes on developmental goals has been developed and codified covering various aspects, concepts and skills.  A new concise format for monitoring of NIPUN, NIPUN Bharat Mission Planning and Implementation Template (NBMPIT), was developed and shared with all States/UTs to understand the progress at a glance and for better monitoring.  In order to provide continuous learning opportunities to the teachers, NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement) online was launched using DIKSHA platform in October 2020 to reach out to elementary teachers and its further extension to all level of teachers. It includes multiple approaches for interaction i.e. Text Modules along with videos. All these contents are aligned to the three developmental goals and learning outcomes of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN). More than 14 lakhs teachers have completed NISHTHA online training program for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) & Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) respectively. The Holistic Progress Card (HPC) has also been introduced as a formative assessment tool to provide a multidimensional view of student progress. It goes beyond academics to include co- curricular and socio-emotional development. Insights from these assessments guide evidence-based interventions, ensuring uniform progress across all regions. 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, a 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. 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 being implemented across the country. From 2022-23 till date, over 4.2 crore students in 8.9 lakh schools have benefitted. As per UDISE 2023–24 data, preschool access has expanded rapidly across the country. Out of 9,16,145 Government and Government-aided schools with Grade 1, a total of 4,64,545 schools (50.70%) has some form of preschool education facility either Balvatika (Pre primary section) or Anganwadi Center or both. PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) has been setup under National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) by DoSE&L. The primary objective of this survey is to evaluate the learning competencies of students in Foundational Literacy, Foundational Numeracy, 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 round of the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 was conducted on 4th December, 2024 by the National Assessment Centre, PARAKH under the aegis of the Ministry of Education. This survey marks a significant advancement in India's assessment framework, aligning with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasizes competency- based learning and assessment reforms. The State/UT (including Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra) wise PARAKH 2024 report has been officially released in public domain on 2nd July, 2025. This can be accessed at https://dashboard.parakh.ncert.gov.in/en.The survey shows improvement in learning achievements of the students and further reflects the success of NIPUN Bharat Mission across the Country. It reflects that the performance of children in Grade 3 in rural school is better than urban schools and clear improvement in learning outcomes from previous survey. *********