In news
The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education launched the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) recently.
National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat)
Vision
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(2025 was the deadline under NEP-2020).
Salient features
- NIPUN Bharat has been launched as a part of the National Education Policy 2020.
- Foundational literacy and numeracy is among the series of the measures taken for the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020.
- Implemented by: Department of School Education and Literacy.
- 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.
- NIPUN Bharat is likely to emphasise goal setting and accountability for State governments, and provide guidelines for teacher training, assessment and the creation of printed resources, according to people who helped develop the mission.
- Central Square Foundation, a non-governmental organisation with a focus on foundational literacy and numeracy, has provided inputs and technical support to the Centre in the development of this mission.
- NIPUN Bharat could recommend a 60-90 day focus on foundational literacy and numeracy before transitioning to a regular timetable.
- So far, the goal has simply been to enrol children in school, and then to ensure that they finish Class 10.
- This mission specifies stage-wise learning goals to ensure that students are acquiring the necessary building blocks.
Samagra Shiksha
- Samagra Shiksha – an Integrated Scheme for School Education has been launched throughout the country as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with effect from the year 2018-19.
- This programme subsumes the three erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE).
- It is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education.
- It envisages the ‘school’ as a continuum from pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary levels.
The major interventions under the scheme are:
- Universal Access including Infrastructure Development and Retention
- Gender and Equity
- Inclusive Education
- Quality
- Financial support for Teacher Salary
- Digital initiatives
- Entitlements under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 including uniforms, textbooks etc
- Pre-school Education
- Vocational Education
- Sports and Physical Education
- Strengthening of Teacher Education and Training
Source: PIB
