Why NIPUN scheme?
According to a report released by education non-profit Pratham, foundational learning has been a constant drawback in Indian schools. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) states that elementary level students are unable to read, understand or perform basic arithmetics. Foundational learning was also highlighted in the new National Education Policy, approved last July but has yet to be implemented.
ASER Findings
- 25% of school-going children in the four to eight age group do not have age-appropriate cognitive and numeracy skills. Thus, there is a considerable learning deficit at a very early stage.
- 4% of children below the age of six can recognize at least letters.
- 6% can make additions.
- 8% of children in Class II can read a text of classes below them.
- 8% of students in Class III can read texts meant for students two levels below them.
What is Foundational Literacy and Numeracy?
Foundational literacy
The pre-existing knowledge of the language helps in building literacy skills in languages. The key components in Foundational Language and Literacy are:
- Oral Language: Development Includes improved listening comprehension, oral vocabulary and extended conversation skills. The experiences in oral language are essential for developing skills in reading and writing.
- Decoding: Involves deciphering written words based on understanding the relationship between symbols and their sounds.
- Reading Fluency: Refers to reading a text with accuracy, speed (automaticity), expression (prosody), and comprehension that allows children to make meaning from the text. Many children recognize aksharas but read them laboriously, one-by-one.
- Reading Comprehension: Involves constructing meaning from a text and thinking critically about it. This domain covers the competencies of understanding texts and retrieving information from them, and interpreting texts.
- Writing: This domain includes the competencies of writing aksharas and words as well as writing for expression.
Foundational Numeracy
Foundational Numeracy means the ability to reason and to apply simple numerical concepts in daily life problem-solving. The significant aspects and components of early mathematics are:
- Pre-number concepts: Count and understand the number system.
- Numbers and operations on numbers: Learn conventions needed for mastery of Mathematical techniques such as the use of a base-ten system to represent numbers.
- Shapes and Spatial Understanding: Perform simple computations in her/his way up to three-digit numbers and apply these to their day to life activities in different contexts.
- Measurement: Understand and use standard algorithms to perform operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division on numbers up to three digits.
- Data Handling: Identify and extend simple patterns starting from repeating shapes to patterns in numbers, interpret simple data/information in his/her daily life activities.
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