The report on the 'Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy', prepared by 'Institute for Competitiveness' has been released by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).
Context
The report on the 'Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy', prepared by 'Institute for Competitiveness' has been released by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).
- The report highlights the importance of the foundational learning of children and also looks at Index on State of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.
Key-highlights
- The report on “State of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in India” was released by Bibek Debroy, Chairman, EAC – PM.
- Kerala with a score of 67.95 and West Bengal with a score of 58.95 are the top-scoring regions in small and large states,
- Lakshadweep (52.69) and Mizoram (51.64) are top-scoring regions in the Union Territory and Northeast state category.
- There is a huge gap between the scores of Kerala and the rest of the states of India. This vast variation is observed in the Learning outcomes and Educational Infrastructure, which necessitates immediate attention for the rest of the country.
- Only 17 states and 4 union territories have scored above the national average of 48.38 on the Index of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy. Some of the poor-performing states in the overall index rankings emerge from Jharkhand (45.28) and Odisha (45.58), Madhya Pradesh (38.69), Uttar Pradesh (38.46), and Bihar (36.81).
- The challenge of access to education is a component that requires immediate attention within the states.
- The large states like Rajasthan (25.67), Gujarat (22.28), and Bihar (18.23) notably lags on this front, whereas the north-eastern states show the highest scores due to their better performance.
Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
- The index on Fundamental Literacy and Numeracy, the first step in this direction, established an understanding of the overall state of foundational learning across children aged below 10 years in Indian states and union territories (UT’s).
- The index includes 5 pillars (educational infrastructure, access to education, basic health , learning outcomes and governance) with 41 indicators.
- Several goals of the sustainable development goals 2030(Zero hunger, good health and well being and access to education) are mapped with the index on foundational literacy and numeracy.
What is Foundational Literacy and Numeracy?
- Foundational Literacy and Numeracy refers to basic reading, writing and mathematics skills.
- Falling behind in the foundational learning years (pre-school and elementary education) negatively impacts the learning outcomes and will make the child vulnerable.
- The report also states that a focus on the foundational learning is needed to ensure universal access to quality levels of education for all children in pre- primary and primary classes in India.
- The covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of technology in the overall child’s education.
- The present scenario is that various governmental as well as non – governmental surveys, indicate that India is currently in a learning crisis.
- A large proportion of students currently in elementary school – estimated to be over 5 crore in number have not attained foundational literacy and numeracy i.e. the ability to read and comprehend basic text and the ability to carry out basic addition and subtraction with Indian numerals.
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