“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”-Nelson Mandela
This pragmatic quote inspired us all to put complete faith in education. Education that can help to change all the adversities we faced in our life journey, especially the latest adversity that the world witnessed- the Covid-19 Pandemic. In that period, the world was more concentrated on health and livelihood issues and India was no exception to it. The children were the worst sufferers during this period as the schools were not fully operationalized in the physical mode for the last two years.
What India had achieved before the Pandemic?
We, as responsible citizens of the country, had walked a decade together to ensure universal education for all children up to the age of 14 years after the RTE act got enacted in 2009. A large country like India had almost ensured enrollment of all the students in school education, irrespective of where they live and which community and socio-economic profile they belong to. But the pandemic has really pushed us to the far back and more rigorous and comprehensive efforts have to be taken in all areas to shape up the education of children for the present and future India.
Marking the second year of the anniversary of NEP 2020 this year, we are aiming for substantial transformation of the education ecosystem at all stages with a strong focus on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN). The considering and recognizing of FLN as a top priority by the Education department of the Union Govt. are genuinely beneficial for the students and the country as a whole.
Reason for the Learning Loss and Education Recovery Survey Report 2022
In response to this, Smile Foundation has designed survey research titled “Learning Loss and Education Recovery” focused on figuring out the priority areas to bring back children to school and catch up on lost learning amidst the pandemic. The survey research is conducted in 11 Indian languages in 22 states at pan India level. It has largely targeted the underprivileged population of the country as the pandemic hit them badly during the school closure. The survey has been designed to understand the age-appropriate learning levels of the students in the primary and upper primary sections.
Research has revealed some alarming facts and figures for the primary grades of students. The survey says:
63% of Grade-3 students do not know how to make sentences, 65% of students are not able to read subject texts and solve cognitive tasks in English and in Mathematics, 51% of students cannot do multiplication up to 10 and solve basic divisions. NEP has emphasised that primary school education is to be based on a student’s mother tongue but the survey states that 58% of students cannot make fundamental sentences and 50% of students do not know the basic set of words.
Smile Foundation’s Role In Ensuring Quality Education
Based on the education recovery survey findings, Smile Foundation is dedicated to ensure quality education for children and work on achieving FLN through Mission Education (ME) centres in 25 states of the country. The Foundation has taken all possible steps to connect with students through various means. Community-based cluster classes, apps-based learning support, activity-based learning, STEM education for experiential learning, remedial education before/after school hours, sports and extra-curricular activities. Areas of involvement also include social and emotional development to promote well-being, nutrition, and health check-ups, awareness of community-based resources and visiting homes regularly at the community level.
