Foundational Learning Survey

• 08 Sep 2022

For Prelims: NCERT, Trends in Survey, Government’s Initiatives

For Mains: State of Education in India, Government’s Initiatives

Why in News?

Recently, the nationwide Foundational Learning Survey (FLS) was carried out jointly by the Union Ministry of Education and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

• More than 50% of the assessed class III children from Delhi have either “limited” foundational numeracy skills or “lacking the most basic knowledge and skills”.
• In the National Achievement Survey (NAS) also Delhi featured in the five states with the lowest average scores in both Math and Language at the class III level.

What do we need to know about the Foundational Learning Survey?

• About: Foundational Learning Survey (FLS) aims to set-up benchmarks for reading with comprehension in 22 Indian languages.
• Background: FLS was undertaken in 2022 as a crucial step towards strengthening efforts for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) under the NIPUN Bharat Mission.
• Samples Size: FLS was carried out among 86,000 class III children in 10,000 schools in the country.
  • In Delhi, the sample size was 2,945 students from across 515 schools.
• Categorization:
  • Based on children’s performances, they were placed in four categories:
    • Those who lacked the most basic knowledge and skills
    • Those who have limited knowledge and skills
    • Those who have developed sufficient knowledge and skill
    • Those who have developed superior knowledge
• Findings:
  • National:
    • Overall Figures:
      • 11% of students lack the most basic knowledge and skills.
      • 37% of the students have limited knowledge and skills.
    • Language:
      • English:
        • 15% of students were found to be lacking even basic skills.
        • 30% had limited skills.
        • 21% had sufficient skills.
        • 34% had fairly superior skills.
      • Hindi:
        • 21% fell under the worst performing bracket
        • 32% had limited proficiency.
    • States: In numeracy, Tamil Nadu (29%) had the maximum number of students who could not complete the most basic grade-level tasks, followed by Jammu and Kashmir (28%), Assam, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat (18%).
• Basis of Findings:
  • Findings of the FLS are based on interviews with each individual participant.
    • While the National Achievement Survey evaluated learning outcomes based on Multiple Choice Questions.

What are the Government’s Initiatives for the Education Sector?

• NIPUN Bharat Mission
• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
• Mid Day Meal Scheme

What is the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)?

• About:
  • The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 by the Government of India to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education.
• Constituent Units:
  • The major constituent units of NCERT which are located in different regions of the country are:
    • National Institute of Education (NIE)
    • Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET)
    • Pandit Sundarlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE)
    • Regional Institute of Education (RIE)

Source: IE