Parliament Question: Reforms under NIPUN Bharat

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-2521 ANSWERED ON-04/08/2025 Reforms under NIPUN Bharat 2521. Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar: Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske: Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde: Smt. Shambhavi: Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state: (a) the specific interventions and reforms under NIPUN Bharat that have contributed to the significant improvement in Grade 3 learning outcomes in language and mathematics, as reflected in the PARAKH Rastriya Sarvekshan 2024; (b) the details of the steps being taken by the Government to ensure that all the States and districts, especially those performing below the national average, are able to utilize PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan data effectively including any guidelines or capacity-building initiatives issued by the Government to identify learning gaps, adapt interventions and ensure that the benefits of NIPUN Bharat reaches to every child; (c) whether the Government has any plans to further strengthen NIPUN Bharat, including targeted support for low-performing regions and strategies to address persistent gaps in foundational learning; and (d) whether the Government proposes to institutionalize a NIPUN Bharat Equity Index to track the equitable implementation of foundational learning interventions in socio-economically disadvantaged districts, tribal areas and aspirational blocks and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (d) : The Department of School Education & Literacy ( DoSE&L), 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. This Mission has been set up under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha- an integrated scheme for School Education Under Samagra Shiksha, all 36States/Union Territories are implementing NIPUN-Bharat Mission. It is the first time that the age group of 3-6 years has been included in the school continuum in foundational stage in 5+3+3+4 structure consisting of 3 years of Balvatika and Grade 1 & 2. 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. PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) has been setup under National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) by Department of School Education and Literacy (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 PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 was conducted on 4th December, 2024 by the National Assessment Centre, PARAKH under the aegis of the Ministry of Education. PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan findings highlight a significant improvement in foundational literacy and numeracy skills outcomes, reflecting the positive impact of the NIPUN Bharat Mission as envisioned in NEP 2020. It reflects that the performance of children in Grade 3 in rural school is better than urban schools, Government schools showed stronger performance at Grade 3, indicating early success of NIPUN Bharat Mission. It also shows clear improvement in learning outcomes from previous survey & recovery from covid losses in language & Mathematics. The various initiatives under NIPUN Bharat Mission which contribute to better outcomes implemented by all States/UTs :-  A 3months 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 beingimplemented across the country. From 2022-23 till date, over 4.2 crore students in 8.9 lakh schools have benefitted.kj  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. The stakeholders involved are teachers/educators, parents, etc. e-JP, in alignment with the NEP 2020, is an app initially developed for Android users along with browser access at https://ejaaduipitara.ncert.gov.in/. The app currently has more than 1,000 stories in different languages. This website and mobile app are packed with fun and engaging content in multiple languages, including activities, songs, riddles, stories and lullabies. Using Artificial Intelligence, it comprises of three bots, viz.,  Katha Sakhi: Your storyteller Buddy, bringing magical tales to life;  Teacher Tara: A guide for educators, offering tips and resources; and  Parent Tara: A supportive companion for parents, providing guidance and fun activities.  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 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 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). Currently, it hosts contents in 133 languages (126 Indian Languages + 7 foreign languages). More than 14 lakhs teachers have completed NISHTHA online training program for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) & Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).  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 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 National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and serves as a unique, lifelong academic ID for every student. It records their academic journey from the foundational stage (Balvatika) 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. 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. All the newly developed material is applicable across the country including aspirational districts, socio-economically disadvantaged districts and tribal areas. For the implementation of NIPUN Bharat initiatives, a separate vertical on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) has been developed on DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) to ensure availability and accessibility of high-quality learning material for the entire nation including aspirational districts including socio- economically disadvantaged districts and tribal areas.  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. ******