29-Nov-2021: NIPUN Bharat Scheme
The Department of School Education and Literacy launched the National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy called National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) on 5th July 2021 under the aegis of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha. The mission aims to achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy in primary classes. The Mission Guidelines lays down priorities and actionable agendas for States and UTs to achieve the goal of proficiency in foundational literacy and numeracy for every child by grade 3. Detailed guidelines for the mission have been developed which includes the codification of development goals and learning outcomes for age 3 to 9 years and Lakshya or Targets for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy starting from Balvatika to Grade III. The guidelines for implementation of the NIPUN Bharat mission has been uploaded on the Department’s website under the link mentioned below:
https://dsel.education.gov.in/sites/default/files/NIPUN_BHARAT_GUIDELINES_EN.pdf
As per the NIPUN Bharat implementation guidelines, assessment during the foundational learning can be broadly categorized into two major areas, namely:
- School Based Assessment (SBA) through qualitative observation based on performance of the child in a multitude of experiences and activities. Various tools and techniques like anecdotal records, checklist, portfolio, and interactions (through a holistic 360-degree assessment with teacher, peers, family and friends) have been recommended to be used for assessment. Thus, the teachers at the foundational stage need to observe children as they play, work on their task, perform or interact among themselves, to assess children’s interests and learning.
- Large-scale standardised assessment for assessment of the processes and functioning of the educational systems (such as NAS, SAS, and Third-Party Assessments). The assessment tools commonly used in conducting large scale assessment studies are multiple choice questions (MCQ) and constructed responses are usually avoided to bring in objectivity in the process. These assessments are a mechanism to gauge how well learning is happening in their state, districts, and blocks. In this regard, the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 has been carried out for assessing learning outcome of children in Grade III.
A specialized National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA 3.0) for the foundational literacy and numeracy covering about 25 lakh teachers at the primary level across all states and UTs has been launched in September, 2021.
25-Oct-2021: Government sets up National Steering Committee for implementation of the NIPUN Bharat Mission
The Department of School Education and Literacy had launched the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy, NIPUN Bharat Mission on 5th July, 2021 with the aim to achieve the goal of universal proficiency in foundational literacy and numeracy for every child by grade 3, as envisaged by National Education Policy 2020. As prescribed in the Mission guidelines, a National Steering Committee (NSC) for implementation of the NIPUN Bharat Mission has been constituted on 25thOctober, 2021 under the chairpersonship of the Union Education Minister, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Vice Chairpersonship of Minister of State for Education, Smt. Annapurna Devi.
The other members of the NSC include: Secretary, School Education & Literacy; Director NCERT; Vice Chancellor NIEPA; Chairperson NCTE; Secretary Education Uttar Pradesh; Secretary Education, Karnataka; Director SCERT Gujarat; Director SCERT Sikkim; Representatives of 7 Union Ministries i.e., Women and Child Development, Tribal Affairs, Social Justice and Empowerment, Health and Family Welfare, Finance, Electronics and Information Technology and Panchayati Raj; Two Experts from NCERT and RIE Ajmer; and Three External Experts. The Joint Secretary and Mission Director NIPUN Bharat Mission is the convenor for the NSC.
The following are the roles and responsibilities of the NSC for the NIUPN Bharat Mission:
- To oversee the progress of National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy and provide guidance on policy issues.
- To arrive at the target to be achieved nationally in 2026-27.
- To disseminate tools for measurement of yearly progress in the form of guidelines.
- To prepare and approve a National Action Plan (based on the State’s Action Plans) with KRAs for every State/UT vis-à-vis factors attributable for the gaps (i.e., lack of Fund, Vacancies, Teachers, Demography, Local issues, Need of Training for teachers, Curriculum & pedagogy related).
- To review programmatic and financial norms periodically to ensure they are synchronised with targets to be achieved.
- To develop methodology of assessment to analyse the progress and provide feedback to States/UTs.
4-Jul-2021: Union Education Minister to launch NIPUN Bharat tomorrow
The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education will launch National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) tomorrow i.e. 5th July, 2021. It will be launched virtually by Union Minister of Education, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’. A short video, anthem and Implementation Guidelines on NIPUN Bharat will also be launched during this programme. Senior officers from the School Education Department from all States and UTs, Senior Officials of the Department and Heads of Institutions will also attend the event.
The launch of NIPUN Bharat marks an important step undertaken by the Department of School Education and Literacy, among a series of measures taken for implementation of the National Education Policy 2020, that was released on 29th July 2020.
The vision of NIPUN Bharat Mission is to create an enabling environment to ensure universal acquisition of foundational literacy and numeracy, so that every child achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27. NIPUN Bharat will be implemented by the Department of School Education and Literacy and a five-tier implementation mechanism will be set up at the National- State- District- Block- School level in all States and UTs, under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha.
