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NIPUN Bharat Mission and Foundational Learning

Kumari Sonali

NIPUN Bharat Mission and Foundational Learning:

Five years after the launch of NIPUN Bharat in July 2021, its progress and future expansion are being discussed to consolidate learning gains, extend support beyond Grade 3 and strengthen India’s foundation for achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat.

  • The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 identified foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) as the highest priority in school education, as more than five crore elementary-level students lacked basic reading and numeracy skills.
  • NIPUN Bharat stands for National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy. It was launched by the Ministry of Education under Samagra Shiksha to achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy.It was launched by the Ministry of Education under Samagra Shiksha to achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy.
  • It was launched in July 2021 under the framework of the National Education Policy 2020.
  • The Mission seeks to ensure that every child acquires the required competencies in reading, writing and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, and not later than Grade 5, by 2026-27.
  • It primarily covers children aged 3–9 years, from Balvatika to Grade 3, with grade-wise learning targets known as Lakshyas.
  • It promotes child-centred, play-based, activity-based, experiential, toy-based, storytelling, art-integrated and sports-integrated pedagogy suited to children’s linguistic and social backgrounds.
  • Foundational literacy includes oral language, decoding, reading fluency, comprehension and writing, while foundational numeracy covers number concepts, mathematical operations, measurement, shapes, spatial understanding and data handling.
  • Teachers and school heads are trained through FLN-specific NISHTHA modules, with emphasis on mother tongue instruction, peer learning, classroom support and effective use of teaching-learning materials.
  • DIKSHA provides digital reading materials, worksheets, assessment banks, videos, children’s literature, teacher handbooks and other resources for both student learning and teacher development.
  • The Mission uses continuous, competency-based and stress-free assessments to identify learning gaps, while IT-enabled systems support child-wise tracking, annual surveys and concurrent monitoring.
  • NIPUN Bharat is implemented in mission mode by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, under the centrally sponsored Samagra Shiksha scheme.
  • Samagra Shiksha was launched by subsuming the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teacher Education schemes. It aims to treat school education holistically, from pre-school to Class XII.
  • NIPUN Bharat follows a five-tier implementation structure at the national, State, district, block or cluster and school levels, with participation from School Management Committees, parents, local bodies and communities.
  • The Mission aims to improve learning outcomes, reduce dropouts, strengthen transition to higher classes, promote inclusive education and create a strong foundation for higher-order learning and future employability.