In recent news, the establishment of a National Steering Committee (NSC) for overseeing the implementation of the NIPUN Bharat Mission has been announced. The mission is a part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, launched to improve reading, understanding and numeracy skills among the children of the nation.
Roles and Responsibilities of the National Steering Committee
The NSC has been assigned several key responsibilities which include the oversight of progress made by the National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy. In addition to this, the committee is to provide guidance on policy issues that arise during the implementation of the mission. Further, it is expected to set national targets for achievement by 2026-27 and disseminate measurement tools for checking yearly progress in the form of guidelines. The NSC is also liable to draft and approve a National Action Plan, based on individual State’s Action Plans, and review both programmatic and financial norms periodically to ensure alignment with the targets set.
NIPUN Bharat Mission: Objectives and Focus Areas
The objective of the NIPUN Bharat Mission is to create a conducive environment that ensures comprehensive acquisition of foundational literacy and numeracy skills. The mission aims to achieve learning competencies in reading, writing and numeracy for every child by the end of Grade 3 by 2026-27.
The primary focus areas of the mission include provision for access and retention of children in the foundational years of schooling and teacher capacity building. Additionally, development of diversified and high quality Student and Teacher Resources/Learning Materials, as well as tracking child-wise progress towards achieving learning outcomes also form an integral part of the mission’s focus.
Execution of the NIPUN Bharat Mission
The Department of School Education and Literacy, under the Ministry of Education, will be responsible for implementing NIPUN Bharat. The execution process involves a five-tier mechanism set up at the National, State, District, Block and School levels across all States and Union Territories. This implementation will be carried out under the centrally-sponsored Samagra Shiksha scheme, which was introduced by merging three existing programs: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE).
The purpose of introducing this scheme was to holistically handle school education from pre-school to Class XII. To further support the NIPUN Bharat Mission, a dedicated package for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) is being framed under NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement) by the NCERT.
Additional Initiatives
Other recent steps towards enhancing the nation’s educational landscape include the launch of the Samagra Shiksha Scheme 2.0, Vidyanjali portal and Indian Sign Language Dictionary, all aimed at improving the quality and accessibility of education. Stage-wise targets are also being set in a continuum from pre-primary or balvatika classes to ensure comprehensive development.
