Foundational Learning Study (FLS)

Foundational Learning: About the Study

• The Foundational Learning Study was jointly carried out by the Union Ministry of Education and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
• The Foundational Learning Study assessed maths skills and the language proficiency in 20 languages including English.
• Classification: The students were categorised into four groups:
• Those who lacked the most basic knowledge and skills
• Those who had limited knowledge and skills
• Those who had developed sufficient knowledge and skills
• Those who had developed superior knowledge and skills
• Students able to partially complete their grade-level tasks were put in the “limited skills” group.
• Students who failed to complete even the simple grade-level tasks were categorised as “lacking the most basic skills”.

Foundational Learning: Performance

• Mathematics:
• National level: Around 11 per cent students did not have the basic grade-level skills; 37 per cent of them had limited skills; 42 per cent had sufficient skills; and 10 per cent had superior skills.
• States: Tamil Nadu (29 per cent) had the maximum number of students who could not complete the most basic grade-level tasks.
• Jammu and Kashmir (28 per cent), Assam, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat (18 per cent) followed Tamil Nadu.
• Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, and Tamil Nadu were states/UTs where students in the “limited skills” category were above 40%.
• Language:
• In Hindi, 21 per cent of students fell under the worst performing bracket, while 32 per cent had limited proficiency.
• The proportion of students having limited skills in languages was: 39 per cent in Marathi, 43 per cent in Bengali, 40 per cent in Gujarati, 39 per cent in Malayalam, 35 per cent in Tamil, and 40 per cent in Urdu.
• English skills: Around 15 per cent lacked “basic skills” in English, while 30 per cent were found to have “limited skills”.

Foundational Learning: Significance

• Foundational Learning Study for future: The ability to read and write and perform basic operations with numbers sets the basic foundation that is necessary for all future schooling.
• Building human capital: Development and Foundational Learning in early years is one of the most important indicators for the development of a productive and efficient human capital.
• NIPUN Bharat: The study will set the base for NIPUN Bharat (National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy) scheme to improve foundational learning.
• Sustainable Development Goals: The data from study will provide report to Sustainable Development Goals at the global level.

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