Equipping all children globally with foundational literacy and numeracy (FNL) skills by 2033 before they turn eight years and enter grade three, is among the commitments of G20 Education Working Group (EDWG) meeting hosted by India in its last leg in Pune, Maharashtra.
“Even the most developed countries have at least 14% of children which never achieve basic life skills and in the developing countries this goes as high as 50%,” Manjul Bhargava, member, NCF Steering Committee, said while calling for an urgent collaborative effort by the G20 countries to overcome the skill gap.
According to Bhargava, India has shown a significant fleet in the last three to four years towards achieving the FNL goals with the introduction of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 which puts foundational literacy and numeracy at the center of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).
Globally, hundreds of millions of children and youth fall back without basic proficiency required in reading and mathematics to perform daily life skills, according to a UNESCO survey which indicates that there is a severe learning crisis at the global arena.
If consistent efforts are shown to strengthen the universal primary and secondary education system, over 420 million people can be left out of poverty, reducing the number of poor in the world by more than half, another UNESCO report stated.
Further, Bhargava stated that India’s National Curriculum Framework (NCF) is a step in the right direction; books for which have been printed for grades one to two and for grades three to 12 will be ready by the end of this month, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told TOI. The NCF recommended books will be implemented in schools after the summer break, he added.