As India charts its path towards a Viksit Bharat by 2047, the foundation of this transformation lies in inclusive economic growth, and at the heart of inclusive growth is Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN). The FLN covers academic skills like reading and basic arithmetic by Grade 3, serving as a gateway to lifelong learning, economic participation, and social empowerment. Early childhood, especially ages 3-6, is crucial for building foundational skills that develop literacy and future learning capacity.
Recognising the importance of FLN, the Government launched the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat), highlighting that the urgency to improve the FLN scenario in India is both timely and critical. With a deadline set for 2026-27, the initiative aims to ensure that every child acquires foundational skills by Grade 3. While this is an ambitious goal, India needs to tread towards it to secure the future of its children as well as the economy. But India’s rich linguistic diversity and regional disparities make nationwide inclusive FLN implementation complex. Addressing foundational learning is essential, but progress will vary across regions due to linguistic complexities across States.
India’s diverse multilingual landscape creates challenges in foundational education, especially in meeting children’s linguistic needs during the early years. Using a single language for literacy emphasises the complexity of accommodating various backgrounds. Teaching children in their mother tongue or a familiar language is essential for linguistic and psychological development, promoting confidence and identity.
However, scaling multilingual education requires appropriate materials, teacher training, and funding, which makes implementing it more complex. Without these, schools tend to default to a hegemonic language, most often English, that becomes the ‘de facto’ official language of instruction. This can unintentionally marginalise other languages, leading to unequal learning outcomes and driving social inequalities.
The Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Report by the Institute for Competitiveness and the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) in 2021 revealed that a costbenefit analysis suggested that investment in FLN for each cohort in India could increase the country’s GDP by up to 7.39 per cent. Without strong FLN skills, many children are likely to drop out before completing secondary education, missing out on lifetime earnings and productivity benefits. Improving foundational skills can be a game-changer for India’s education system.
For tapping the full potential of FLN, India must design and implement a strategic approach. To begin with, it can improve the utility of the existing country-wide assessments, such as the National Achievement Survey and the Foundational Literacy Study, by introducing unit-level data to support more targeted interventions. Current assessments, focusing solely on basic literacy and numeracy, do not capture the structural and societal complexities underlying gender disparities.
A comprehensive database at state and district levels can inform policies, and boost learning outcomes across India. Beyond data, collaboration is key. The Government should foster cooperation among research units, educators, and institutions to improve FLN intervention monitoring, evaluation, and feedback. Creating centralised knowledge hubs can streamline this process. To truly build a strong foundation, we must delve deeper to understand inclusion gaps that continue to influence FLN outcomes in India and how inclusive, better data, rather than just more data, can drive real change and address the FLN crisis.
