Ministry of Education to conduct 'Foundational Learning Study' across all states & UTs

The study will drive the participation of approximately, 10,000 schools and 1 lakh students. The study aims to set up benchmarks for reading with comprehension in 22 Indian languages.

Foundational Learning Study: Ministry of Education is all set to conduct the first of its kind in the world, ‘foundational learning study’. The aim behind conducting this study is to draw a first-hand understanding of the learning levels of the students at the foundational learning stage (at the end of Grade 3). According to the official press note, the study aims to set up benchmarks for reading with comprehension in 22 Indian languages.

NCERT to conduct Foundational Learning Study in all states & UTs

The Foundational Learning Study will be conducted by the NCERT in all States and UTs over a window of four days i.e. from March 23 to March 26, 2022, in the sampled schools.

The National Education Policy 2020 highlights that “the ability to read and write, and perform basic operations with numbers, is a necessary foundation and an indispensable prerequisite for all future schooling and lifelong learning”.

Focusing on ‘learning achievement’ in the foundational years is pertinent in order to provide the learners with capabilities to make their subsequent learning experiences more meaningful and absorbing. While the dimensions of learning can be manifold, the basic ability of reading with comprehension, writing and an understanding of the basic numeracy concepts (such as numbers, patterns etc.) relate to core learning goals at the foundational stage, the press note said.

Objectives Behind Foundational Learning Study

The study will drive the participation of approximately, 10,000 schools and 1 lakh students. The specific objectives of the foundational learning study are as follows:

• To conduct a large-scale assessment of the foundational learning of grade 3 students to establish a baseline for the NIPUN Bharat mission
• To establish reading proficiency benchmarks for fluency with comprehension for each of the languages being assessed under the study
• To provide the data for SDG 4.1.1. (Covering aspects of foundational literacy and numeracy)

Ministry of Education (MoE), has launched the ‘National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy’ (NIPUN- BHARAT) mission to provide the roadmap for strengthening the domain of foundational learning at the national level.

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