UPSC Editorial Analysis: India’s Foundational Learning Crisis

*General Studies-2; Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.*

Introduction

• India has made consistent efforts to improve access and equity in education, but recent evaluations raise serious concerns about the quality of learning outcomes in the country.

• Two significant reports — the Ministry of Education’s PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan and UNESCO’s 2025 SDG-4 Progress Report — have sounded the alarm on foundational learning, school infrastructure, teacher training, and financing.

• These reports underscore that India may fall short of its New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 goals unless urgent systemic interventions are adopted.

Key Findings from PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan

The Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH) survey was one of India’s largest nationwide school assessments.

• Sample size: 21.15 lakh students in classes 3, 6, and 9

• Coverage: 74,229 government and private schools across all 36 states and UTs

Findings:

• Class 3 students: Only 55% could arrange numbers up to 99 in ascending/descending order. Merely 58% could perform basic two-digit addition and subtraction.

• Only 55% could arrange numbers up to 99 in ascending/descending order.

• Merely 58% could perform basic two-digit addition and subtraction.

• Class 6 students: 54% could not compare whole numbers or understand large numbers. 43% failed to grasp the meaning of texts they read. Over 50% lacked basic geographic knowledge about rivers and mountains.

• 54% could not compare whole numbers or understand large numbers.

• 43% failed to grasp the meaning of texts they read.

• Over 50% lacked basic geographic knowledge about rivers and mountains.

• State-level variations: Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab emerged as top performers. Karnataka was noted for modern teaching methods but lacked uniform equity in outcomes.

• Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab emerged as top performers.

• Karnataka was noted for modern teaching methods but lacked uniform equity in outcomes.

These outcomes reflect deep foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) gaps, echoing earlier findings from the ASER reports by Pratham NGO.

Findings from UNESCO’s 2025 SDG-4 Progress Report

The Sustainable Development Goal-4 (SDG-4) aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all.

UNESCO’s Observations on India:

• Critical gaps in FLN, especially among younger children.

• 21% of youth aged 15–17 are out of school, highlighting a troubling dropout trend.

• A staggering 60% of students underperform across key subjects.

• Rural-urban and gender disparities persist in access, performance, and retention.

The report calls attention to underinvestment in education, weak teacher preparedness, and lack of robust monitoring systems.

Causes of Poor Learning Outcomes

• Inadequate Public Spending

• India spends only 4.3% of GDP on education (Economic Survey 2023), below the NEP 2020 target of 6%. This underfunding hampers infrastructure development, teacher recruitment, and training programs.

• India spends only 4.3% of GDP on education (Economic Survey 2023), below the NEP 2020 target of 6%.

• This underfunding hampers infrastructure development, teacher recruitment, and training programs.

• Teacher Shortages and Poor Training

• According to UDISE+ 2021–22: Over 10% of schools are run by a single teacher. Many teachers are inadequately trained in modern pedagogy, ICT, and FLN frameworks.

• Over 10% of schools are run by a single teacher.

• Many teachers are inadequately trained in modern pedagogy, ICT, and FLN frameworks.

• Infrastructure Gaps

• Many schools lack functional toilets, libraries, science labs, and digital tools. According to NAS (2017), a poor school environment directly impacts learning performance.

• Many schools lack functional toilets, libraries, science labs, and digital tools.

• According to NAS (2017), a poor school environment directly impacts learning performance.

• Socio-Economic Barriers

• Children from SC/ST, rural, and economically weaker backgrounds face compounded disadvantages. Girls drop out due to gender bias, lack of sanitary facilities, or early marriage in certain regions.

• Children from SC/ST, rural, and economically weaker backgrounds face compounded disadvantages.

• Girls drop out due to gender bias, lack of sanitary facilities, or early marriage in certain regions.

Impact of Learning Deficits

The current deficiencies have wide-ranging consequences:

• Low productivity and unemployment due to poor skill acquisition.

• A semi-literate workforce unable to adapt to a changing economy.

• Diminished outcomes from government initiatives like Skill India and Digital India.

• Greater dependency on the informal sector and intergenerational cycles of poverty.

NEP 2020: Aspirations vs. Reality

The New Education Policy 2020 envisages:

• Achieving universal foundational literacy and numeracy by 2026–27 under the NIPUN Bharat Mission.

• Teacher training revamp, early childhood education, and a flexible curriculum focused on critical thinking.

However, these goals remain far from realization due to:

• Lack of financial commitment

• Fragmented implementation across states

• Limited coordination between central and state education agencies

Case Studies of Positive Deviance

• Kerala:

• Focus on public education, teacher unions, and social literacy drives. Consistently high learning levels and enrolment ratios.

• Focus on public education, teacher unions, and social literacy drives.

• Consistently high learning levels and enrolment ratios.

• Punjab:

• Introduced Mission Buniyaad to improve FLN in early grades. Leveraged EdTech platforms for adaptive learning.

• Introduced Mission Buniyaad to improve FLN in early grades.

• Leveraged EdTech platforms for adaptive learning.

• Delhi:

• “Happiness Curriculum” and teacher training through international partnerships.

These examples offer a roadmap for other states, provided they are adapted to local socio-economic contexts.

Way Forward

• Increase Public Investment

• Raise education spending to at least 6% of GDP as per NEP targets. Prioritize FLN programmes, school infrastructure, and teacher salaries.

• Raise education spending to at least 6% of GDP as per NEP targets.

• Prioritize FLN programmes, school infrastructure, and teacher salaries.

• FLN Mission with Accountability

• Scale up NIPUN Bharat with measurable indicators and real-time dashboards. Integrate mother-tongue instruction at early levels to aid comprehension.

• Scale up NIPUN Bharat with measurable indicators and real-time dashboards.

• Integrate mother-tongue instruction at early levels to aid comprehension.

• Teacher Empowerment

• Make Continuous Professional Development (CPD) mandatory. Create a National Teacher Registry to standardize qualifications and upskilling.

• Make Continuous Professional Development (CPD) mandatory.

• Create a National Teacher Registry to standardize qualifications and upskilling.

• Digital Inclusion

• Expand PM e-Vidya, DIKSHA, and Swayam platforms to underserved areas. Invest in digital infrastructure and electricity for schools.

• Expand PM e-Vidya, DIKSHA, and Swayam platforms to underserved areas.

• Invest in digital infrastructure and electricity for schools.

• Decentralized School Governance

• Empower School Management Committees (SMCs) to monitor learning outcomes and allocate local budgets.

• Strengthen Monitoring and Evaluation

• Institutionalize large-scale assessments like PARAKH and NAS. Link school grants and teacher incentives to learning improvements.

• Institutionalize large-scale assessments like PARAKH and NAS.

• Link school grants and teacher incentives to learning improvements.

• Equity and Inclusion

• Special focus on girl child education, tribal areas, and disabled students. Incentivize attendance and performance through targeted schemes like Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas.

• Special focus on girl child education, tribal areas, and disabled students.

• Incentivize attendance and performance through targeted schemes like Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas.

Conclusion

• The recent findings by PARAKH and UNESCO SDG-4 act as a wake-up call. India must not only ensure school access but must guarantee that learning actually takes place.

• Without foundational learning, all other educational reforms are built on shaky ground.

Critically analyze the findings of the PARAKH report and suggest policy-level reforms to address foundational learning gaps in India. (250 words)