Prateek Tanmay
As India works towards the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, one truth is unavoidable: Economic transformation will ultimately depend on the quality of human capital we build today. Roads, ports, and digital infrastructure matter — but without a workforce that can read with understanding, reason mathematically, think critically, adapt to new contexts, and learn new skills, growth will be neither sustained nor inclusive.
Over the last two decades, working closely with classrooms, teachers, and state education systems, we have seen the same pattern repeat itself. As children progress through grades, enrollment remains high, but learning gaps widen. By the time children reach upper primary or secondary school, the cost of remediation — financial, institutional, and human — becomes prohibitively high. This is not just a pedagogical concern, but also one of returns on public investment. When foundational skills are weak, the productivity payoff from later spending on schooling, skilling, and higher education falls sharply. The human cost is very visible but harder to measure. For example, a student in VIII standard struggling with basic arithmetic operations also lacks self-confidence and has probably given up on the possibility of finding a good future through education.
India’s education reform journey took a decisive turn with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which made foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) the highest priority of the school system. For the first time, national policy articulated clear goals and timelines — clearly saying that children must have basic reading and arithmetic skills by III Grade. The policy also states that “the rest of this Policy will become relevant for our students only if this most basic learning requirement (that is, reading, writing, and arithmetic at the foundational level) is first achieved”. Without foundational skills, children’s future learning and life prospects remain insecure. NEP 2020 placed this simple but powerful idea at the centre of India’s schooling reforms, laying the groundwork for a mission that could shape the country’s demographic dividend.
The operationalisation of NEP 2020 was immediate. The government launched the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) in 2021 with implementation plans, metrics, and monitoring systems designed to make that promise real. The new National Curriculum Framework for the Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) was officially launched on October 20, 2022, by the Ministry of Education.
Mission mode for learning: What NIPUN Bharat has achieved so far
Evidence available from recent national achievement surveys like PARAKH 2024 and ASER 2024 show clear signs of progress in the early grades. The III Grade results from both sources show significant improvement in foundational learning across the country. Although there is still a long way to go to achieve the goal of universal foundational learning by III Grade, it is heartening for the country to see that progress is possible and is happening.
However, the data from the same two surveys show a less rosy picture for older grades. For example, ASER 2024 points out that V Grade had returned to pre-Covid levels but in most states, foundational learning levels in V Grades and above were not any better than they had been in 2018 or earlier.
Looking ahead: A possible NIPUN 2.0
Too many children in III-V Grades still struggle with core competencies, especially those who entered school before NIPUN Bharat was in place or whose learning was disrupted during the pandemic. These children are at risk of never fully catching up if classroom instruction does not adapt to their needs. Such children cannot be left out of the reform story. It is, therefore, welcome news that NIPUN Bharat is being actively considered for continuation up to V Grade. We see this as a necessary extension, not a dilution of focus. Foundational learning does not neatly resolve itself at the end of III Grade. For a large share of children, especially first-generation learners, consolidation through IV and V Grades is essential if early gains are to translate into lasting learning.
This is the gap that Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) was designed to address – it is not a new or experimental idea being proposed in response to NIPUN Bharat. It is a tried and tested approach, developed in India over 20 years and refined through sustained collaboration between practitioners and researchers. Pioneered by Pratham in India, it is a well-established “catch-up” approach designed specifically for children in III-V Grades, precisely the stage at which the National Education Policy (NEP) and NIPUN Bharat identify the risk of children falling permanently behind in foundational literacy and numeracy. A defining feature of TaRL’s development has been its sustained research partnership with the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in India over two decades, which has not only demonstrated learning gains but also generated practical insights on how systems can deliver foundational learning at scale. These studies showed that short, focused periods of instruction aligned to children’s current learning levels can significantly improve basic reading and mathematics, while underscoring the importance of dedicated time, teacher mentoring, and simple assessment. They also highlighted what does not work: Business-as-usual teaching, or superficial adoption without changes in classroom practice.
Although many of the India evaluations were completed over a decade ago, their relevance is evident in how their core principles have endured and now underpin government-led adaptations of TaRL in more than 20 countries, including Zambia, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Botswana, Madagascar, and Morocco. This cumulative evidence base informs the classification of targeted instruction by learning level as a “Great Buy” in the Smart Buys report of the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel and aligns closely with NIPUN Bharat’s emphasis on time-bound, outcome-focused strategies to achieve universal foundational learning. Recent evidence of “catch-up” TaRL from Zambia now points to sustained learning gains — while short-run gains were limited to directly taught skills, students showed broader literacy and math improvements on national exams by the end of primary school.
Closer to home, TaRL’s contemporary relevance is also visible in administrative data from Indian states that have implemented variants of the approach in recent years. Over the last two years, several states have used TaRL-inspired models in III, IV and V Grades, often under different names, to support learning recovery post-Covid. Routine monitoring data consistently show improvements in children’s reading and arithmetic levels over short implementation cycles, particularly when TaRL is implemented with fidelity and supported by teacher support. For policymakers, this is exactly the kind of “proof of implementation” that complements established experimental evidence. With advances in technology, Pratham is also actively experimenting with how AI can improve the effectiveness of the TaRL impact in Indian classrooms. This tech addition is also due to be rigorously evaluated in the coming months.
Viksit Bharat will not be built in classrooms that promote children without teaching them. If India is serious about turning early learning gains into lasting human capital, the next steps are clear. With NIPUN Bharat laying the foundation and an extension to V Grade on the horizon, the country has a rare opportunity to close the loop on foundational learning. Teaching at the Right Level offers that pathway—home-grown, evidence-backed, and ready to scale. This is not about importing a new program, but about adopting a proven instructional strategy that aligns closely with national policy goals, and demonstrating that a country of this scale can ensure foundational literacy and numeracy for every child in primary school.
Mukerji is with J-PAL South Asia. Banerji is with Pratham Education Foundation
