The recent Annual Status of Education Report 2024 states that Grade III pupils have improved their reading skills (24% to 34%) and subtraction skills (29% to 41%). Young readers like Shragtika Ghosh are examples of how the adoption of vibrant and relevant workbooks has improved literacy outcomes in Odisha. Primary school teacher Ravi Sharma teaches mathematics through songs. As they learn numbers, they chant, “Ek-do thaila lo, teen-char chalo bazaar.” Shragtika Ghosh, a Class II student, can now read Odia books with confidence. Colorful and relevant workbooks enhance core literacy.
The Ministry of Education launched the Nipun Bharat Programme 2021, a national initiative for proficiency in reading with comprehension and arithmetic to ensure that every child in the country acquires basic literacy and arithmetic comprehension by the end of Grade 3 by 2026-2027. The Nipun Bharat Mission has been launched under the aegis of the centrally sponsored Samagra Shiksha Yojana; it will focus on providing access and retaining students in the basic years of schooling, building teacher capacity, tracking each child’s progress toward learning outcomes, and developing high-quality and diverse student and teacher resources/learning materials. The recent Annual Status of Education Report provides a ray of hope by revealing significant improvement in basic learning outcomes, especially in Grade III. This development is partly due to the Government of India’s concerted efforts to improve educational quality, in which the Nipun Bharat Mission is playing a key role.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 established the framework for promoting foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN). It emphasized early childhood education as a critical component of holistic educational development. Nipun Bharat Mission: A Game Changer The National Initiative for Reading, Comprehension, and Numeracy (NIPUNA) Bharat, launched in 2021, is a mission of the Ministry of Education. Nipun Bharat aims to improve the reading, writing, and arithmetic skills of children aged 3 to 9 years. The components of Nipun Bharat are Improve your oral language listening comprehension, vocabulary, and conversational abilities. Learn to read written words by learning the relationship between symbols and sounds. Learn basic numeracy to use simple math ideas to solve everyday situations. Plans for Nipun Bharat implementation are made by the state and union territory administrations.
To understand learning levels, the National Council of Educational Research and Training carries out basic learning research. Nipun Bharat’s features include an interesting curriculum and teaching-learning resources that cost Rs 500 per child. It gives each teacher Rs 150 for resource material and Rs 5,000 for courses aimed at enhancing their capacity. It gives states Rs 10 to Rs 20 lakh for student assessment and between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 1 crore for state and district-level project management units. According to stories of the impact of the Nipun Bharat Abhiyan, teachers use songs to make mathematics more interesting. For example, the recent Annual Status of Education Report 2024 states that Grade III pupils have improved their reading skills (24% to 34%) and subtraction skills (29% to 41%).
Young readers like Shragtika Ghosh are examples of how the adoption of vibrant and relevant workbooks has improved literacy outcomes in Odisha. Mathematics is taught through songs by primary school teacher Ravi Sharma. As they learn numbers, they chant the slogan, “Ek-do thaala lo, teen-char chalo bazaar.” Shragtika Ghosh, a second grader, can now read Odia books with confidence. Colorful and relevant workbooks enhance core literacy. Nipun is essential, but it has some difficulties. After initial academic progress, many children struggle in later classes. Marginalized children often enter school lacking basic competencies. Nipun Bharat took four years to deliver results. Its impact will be greater if it is extended to 2030. It is important to invest in early childhood education (ECE) and provide learning support to classes III-V.
As they move on to more complex ideas, many children still struggle with basic education. Lack of early preparation creates additional barriers for marginalized communities. As the four-year journey of Nipun Bharat shows, systemic change requires sustained efforts. To have a more profound and lasting impact, Nipun Bharat 2.0 is being extended to 2030. Expand to grades III-V to bridge the knowledge gap between higher-order and basic skills, improve preschool instruction, and prioritize early childhood education to increase student readiness for primary school. The results demonstrate that progress is possible with the right resources and policies. The goal of expanding Nipun Bharat is to transform lives, not just increase numbers. India has a chance to guarantee high-quality education for all children and set a worldwide standard in basic education by committing immediately to Nipun Bharat 2.0.
The Nipun Bharat program has resulted in a remarkable improvement in the language, writing, learning, and reading skills of each child. It aims to teach National Initiative Proficiency in Comprehension and Numeracy to Class 3 primary school children.