NIPUN Bharat 2023 is a National mission on FLN

Ministry of Education has launched the NIPUN Bharat Programme 2023 is a National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat), for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27. The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education (MoE) will be the implementing agency at the national level and will be headed by a Mission Director.

A short video, NIPUN Bharat anthem and NIPUN Bharat Guidelines were launched by Ministry of Education. The National Mission, which has been launched under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha, will focus on providing access and retaining children in foundational years of schooling; teacher capacity building; development of high quality and diversified Student and Teacher Resources/Learning Materials; and tracking the progress of each child in achieving learning outcomes.

Teachers need to focus on every child for developing basic language; literacy and numeracy skills which will help them develop into better readers and writers. Thus, NIPUN Bharat envisages making the experience of learning at the foundational stage Holistic, Integrated, Inclusive, Enjoyable, and Engaging.

The National Education Policy 2020 has laid down that attaining foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) for all children must become an immediate national mission. In keeping with this, the Department has developed a comprehensive guideline under NIPUN Bharat, through a series of intensive consultations with implementing partners, experts to make it flexible and collaborative.

Name of the Programme	NIPUN Bharat Programme 2023
Title	Download NIPUN Bharat Guidelines 2023
Subjec	Ministry of Education released NIPUN Bharat Guidelines 2023
Category	Guidelines
Website	https://www.education.gov.in/
Download	NIPUN Bharat Guidelines
Download	NIPUN Bharat Flip Book

It covers key technical aspects of foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) as well as the administrative aspects for effectively setting up an implementation mechanism at the National, State, District, Block and School level. An amount has already been given under Samagra Shiksha scheme to the States and UTs for implementation of the various interventions for Foundational Stage in 2021-22.

That quality education is the bedrock of strong Nation building and, foundational education in literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills is its core component. In the coming years, this mission will change the outlook of our school education, and will strongly impact 21st Century India. NIPUN Bharat will not only help our students to take a big leap in their higher classes, but it will also have a major impact in making our students globally competitive.

Foundational learning is the basis of all future learning for a child. Not achieving basic foundational skills of being able to read with comprehension, writing and doing basic mathematics operations, leaves the child unprepared for the complexities of the curriculum beyond grade 3.

NIPUN Bharat will be implemented with the use and strengthening of the existing mainstream structures and will take a holistic approach through the active involvement of all stakeholders. It will also focus on the holistic development of the child. As mentioned in NEP 2020, there are different domains of development like physical and motor development, socio-emotional development, literacy and numeracy development, cognitive development, and moral development, art and aesthetic development which are interrelated and interdependent.

Further, in addition to strategic, technical and administrative aspects of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy mission, the comprehensive guidelines prepared by the Department lay down the priorities and actionable agendas for States/UTs to achieve the goal of proficiency in foundational literacy and numeracy by every child by grade 3. This incredible task to achieve universal acquisition of foundational literacy and numeracy skills at primary level.

ABC Program | LEP Program | 3Rs Program | Remedial Teaching Program
Reading Campaign 2022
NIPUN Bharat 2022
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School Preparation Programme 2022
FLN Mission 2022
LEP 3Rs Programme
ABC Programme
45 Days ABC Programme Action Plan

NIPUN Bharat Features

• The unique feature is that the goals of the Mission are set in the form of Lakshya Soochi or Targets for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN).
• Although, the overall aim is to achieve the desired learning outcomes by the end of grade 3, however, in order to generate greater awareness among the parents, community, volunteers etc. the Lakshyas has been developed from Balvatika to Grade 3.
• The Laskhyas are based on the learning outcomes developed by the NCERT and international research and ORF studies.
• For example, a child should be able to read 45 to 60 words per minute and at least 60 words per minute correctly by the end of Grade II and III respectively from an age appropriate unknown text with comprehension and clarity.

The success of NIPUN Bharat will primarily depend on teachers, so, there will be a special emphasis on capacity building of teachers. A special package for foundational literacy and Numeracy (FLN) under NISHTHA is being developed by NCERT and around 25 lakh teachers teaching at pre-primary to primary grade will be trained this year on FLN.

Students covered under NIPUN Bharat Mission

• The mission will focus on children of age group of 3 to 9 years including pre-school to Grade 3.
• The children who are in Class 4 and 5 and have not attained the foundational skills will be provided individual teacher guidance and support, peer support and age appropriate and supplementary graded learning materials to acquire the necessary competencies.
• The goals and objectives of the mission are required to be achieved by all Govt., Govt. Aided and Private Schools so that universal acquisition of FLN skills can be achieved by 2026-27.

NIPUN Bharat Out comes

Following outcomes have been envisaged from implementation of the goals and objectives of NIPUN Bharat Mission:

• Foundational skills enable to keep children in class thereby reducing the dropouts and improve transition rate from primary to upper primary and secondary stages.
• Activity based learning and conducive learning environment will improve quality of education.
• Innovative pedagogies such as toy-based and experiential learning will be used in classroom transaction thereby making learning a joyful and engaging activity.
• Intensive capacity building of teachers will make them empowered and provide greater autonomy for choosing the pedagogy.
• Holistic development of the child by focusing on different domains of development like physical and motor development, socio-emotional development, literacy and numeracy development, cognitive development, life skills etc. which are interrelated and interdependent, which will be reflected in a Holistic Progress Card.
• Children to achieve steeper learning trajectory which may have positive impacts on later life outcomes and employment.
• Since almost every child attends early grades, therefore, focus at that stage will also benefit the socio-economic disadvantageous group thus ensuring access to equitable and inclusive quality education.
• Thus, NIPUN Bharat is envisaged to support and encourage students, along with their schools, teachers, parents, and communities, in every way possible, to helprealise the true potential of our children and propel the country to new heights.

• FLN refers to a child’s ability to read with meaning and solve basic maths problems by Class 3.
• These are crucial basic skills that help them succeed in life.
• The National Education Policy 2020 accords the highest priority to FLN.
• Research suggests that Class 3 is an inflection point.
• Only if children ‘learn to read’ by then do they ‘read to learn’.
• NIPUN Bharat will help children ‘read to learn’ so that they don’t get left behind.

In line with what NEP 2020 recommends?

• the mission will Help children read with comprehension.
• Help children understand numbers, measurement, and shapes.
• Use play and activity-based pedagogy.
• Teach in children’s home languages.
• Provide high-quality teaching-learning material to engage children.
• Build capacities of teachers, Academic Resource Persons, education administrators.
• Track children’s learning levels consistently.
• Conduct meaningful assessments using polls, quizzes, games, etc.

What are the Development Goals?

Different domains of development like:

• physical and motor development,
• socio-emotional development,
• literacy and numeracy development,
• cognitive development,
• spiritual and moral development,
• art and aesthetic development which are interrelated and interdependent.
• All these domains have been subsumed into three major goals for holistic development of the child.

Lakshyas: Learning Goals of the Mission

The National Mission will declare the overall national targets in achieving learning outcomes, including year wise outcomes to be achieved by the year 2026-27 by each State/UT.

Learning Goals for Balavatika

• Recognises letters and corresponding sounds,
• Reads simple words comprising of at least 2 to 3 alphabets.
• Recognizes and reads numerals up to 10.
• Arranges numbers/objects/shapes /occurrence of events in a sequence

Learning Goals for Grade 1

• Reads small sentences consisting of at least 4-5 simple words in an age appropriate unknown text.
• Read and write numbers up to 99
• Perform simple Be addition and subtraction

Learning Goals for Grade 2

• Read with meaning.
• 45-60 words per minute.
• Read and write numbers up to 999.
• Subtract numbers up to 99.

Learning Goals for Grade 3

• Read with meaning.
• at least 60 words per minute
• Read and write numbers up to 9999.
• Solve simple multiplication problems

Can your child read and understand simple sentences like by Class 3?

According to NIPUN Bharat, every child should be able to read correctly and with comprehension following number of words per minute from an age appropriate unknown text for Class 2: 45-60 words per minute and for Class 3: at least 60 words per minute.

Ensuring School Readiness for Class 1 Children: The NCERT has developed a 3-month play-based school preparation module for all Class 1 children to ensure readiness for grade I, as suggested by the NEP 2020.

What does this module entail? 12 weeks of study to bolster a child’s pre-literacy, pre-numeracy, cognitive and social skills. Activities and worksheets around the learning of alphabets, sounds, words, colours, shapes, and numbers.

Building Teacher Capacity for FLN with NISHTA: NISHTHA is a teacher-training programme that equips teachers with skills and techniques to specifically teach children in foundational grades.

Assessments for learning:

Assessments help in understanding the learning levels of children and if any corrective measure is required. They can be cateogrised as follows:

• School-based assessments are stress-free and use qualitative observation based on performance of the child in a multitude of activities.
• Large-scale standardised assessments: provide a system-level snapshot of learning outcomes and help in understanding the education health at a district or state or national or international level.

Holistic Progress Cards to assess the Children’s Growth and Development

Holistic Progress Cards will capture insights from school-based assessments. Here are some of its attributes:

1. Provides disaggregated reporting, unlike a single score or letter grade in a subject. Includes many unique competencies beyond academics.
2. Indicates progress in literacy, numeracy and in other areas such as psychomotor skills, environmental awareness, personal hygiene, etc.
3. Painting, drawing, clay-work, toy-making, inquiry-based learning, student portfolios, quizzes, group work, role plays, etc., can be used for assessment,
4. Parent, Peers and self-assessment can be used to record 360-degree progress.

Enabling Teachers to Ensure NIPUN Bharat is a Success

Here’s how teachers can help children acquire Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) skills:

1. By being aware about learning outcomes and grade-level lakshyas or goals.
2. By training in multi-level, play-based, student-centred style of learning.
3. By focusing on imparting experiential learning through art, stories, poetry, rhymes, games, toys, songs, or activities in mother tongue.
4. By using formative assessments.

How DIKSHA Can Improve Children’s FLN Skills?

DIKSHA, the Ministry of Education’s primary digital initiative, will:

• Provide teaching-learning content in regional languages for FLN grades.
• Educational content will be learner-centric.
• Educational content will be aligned with the curriculum.
• Provide competency-based question banks and other assessment tools.

FAQs on NIPUN Bharat Programme