Policy Update
Gauri Khanna
Source – National portal of India
Introduction
Teachers were using teacher-centered and conventional ways of teaching, which led to poor learning outcomes.
The government launched the National Mission to Improve Learning Outcomes at the Elementary Level (NISHTHA) on August 21, 2019. NISHTHA is a holistic and integrated programme under Samagra Shiksha. It was introduced in phases: the online version for elementary teachers started on October 6, 2020; NISHTHA 2.0 for secondary teachers was launched on July 29, 2021; NISHTHA 3.0 focused on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy for pre-primary to Class V on September 7, 2021; and NISHTHA 4.0 emphasizes Early Childhood Care and Education for pre-primary teachers and anganwadi workers.
Objectives
- Initiating professional development for teachers and school leaders is essential.
- Providing access to quality teaching resources helps educators address diverse student needs.
- Equipping stakeholders with skills enables them to create and share student-centered resources.
- Prioritize teaching and learning that emphasises competency and developing higher-order thinking skills.
Functioning
The NISHTHA was implemented in a phased manner and created modules according to the Elementary, Secondary, and foundation stages.
NISHTHA Elementary level (Class I-VIII) The professional development of 4.2 million elementary teachers and school leaders is crucial. This initiative provides quality teaching resources to address diverse student needs and empowers educators to create and share context-specific materials. Every teacher will participate in the 50-hour Continuing Professional Development, as mentioned in the National Education Policy.
Ongoing mentoring and support will ensure effective implementation. The National Resource Group (NRG) trained Key Resource Persons (KRP) and State Resource Persons (SRP) to improve educational reach across India’s various regions. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in school shutdowns and limited in-person training, motivating the Ministry of Education to implement online courses. KRPS and SRPS trained teachers at the block level, with district-level training initiated in 23 states and union territories.
NISHTHA Online: The NISHTHA program aimed to train teachers in subject-specific pedagogy. It explored various methods to integrate quizzes, games, and projects to shift from a rote learning approach to a competency-based approach. The initiative focused on developing school heads and teachers to act as primary counsellors. Support was provided through the Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) application, the NISHTHA host portal, the NCERT website, Epathshala, and SWAYAM, which offered various training modules, explanatory demonstration videos, and digital certification.
NISHTHA SECONDARY – The NISHTHA Secondary in all its courses was designed to cater to the needs of adolescents. Twelve general courses covering general topics and seven courses covering pedagogical issues in seven subject areas—science, mathematics, social sciences, and languages—Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, and English—make up NISHTHA 2.0 for the Secondary Stage. Every generic course will last three to four hours, whereas pedagogy courses will last a total of twenty-four to twenty-five hours, giving teachers ample time to finish the course. In addition to one pedagogy course specific to their field, each secondary school head and teacher is obliged to complete about 12 general education courses.
NISHTHA for NIPUN Bharat Foundational Literacy Numeracy (FLN) – Introduction to Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission. On the web portals, all the courses that are going to improve foundational literacy and numeracy skills are listed. These courses help teachers to create an inclusive classroom environment by the use of play, exploration, and activity-based pedagogies, linking these to the children’s everyday experiences and formally including their mother language. Community and Parent Involvement for FLN Understanding of Balvatika and Vidya Parvesh. Strengthening leadership to improve literacy and numeracy.
NISHTHA ECCE – ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) is integrated into NISHTHA through specialized modules focused on foundational skills, child-centered pedagogy, developmental milestones, and holistic development of young children. The training emphasises a child-centric approach, focusing on cognitive, emotional, social, and physical growth.
Modality of Implementation – NCERT created training courses in English, Hindi, and Urdu. These courses were then shared with States and Union Territories, which then translated them into their regional languages. The translated content was used to develop digital learning materials. States uploaded and run these customized courses on their platforms. Technical teams were required to send data every Monday. Academic coordinators to report course details within 15 days of course completion. States should set up their monitoring systems from the school to the national level, following best practices.
Role of Complementary Portals in Supporting NISHTHA – Teachers begin by installing the DIKSHA app or visiting its portal, then register with their email or mobile number to have their progress, scores, and certificates automatically tracked. Once logged in, they can access NISHTHA course materials, videos, readings, and activities available in multiple languages for anywhere learning. At the end of each module, a short quiz (70 % pass mark, up to three attempts) unlocks an immediate e-certificate, motivating participants to enrol in NISHTHA courses.
Supporting Partners – National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Central Institute of Education and Technology (CIET), National Council of Educational Research and Training, and District Institute of Education all play a crucial role in achieving the goals of NISHTHA.
NCERT’s CIET team has organized an evolving webinar series, including nearly 540 one-hour sessions in Hindi and English, addressing subjects such as cyber safety to digital teaching aids. The sessions can be watched live on YouTube, DTH TV channels, and a mobile app to help everyone make the most of the materials. Also, they join with the Atal Tinkering Mission to train educators in the development of game-based learning materials and host monthly comprehensive workshops on educational technology. In addition to these trainings, NCERT workshops collaborate with organizations such as UNESCO, CDAC, and Microsoft etc.
NCERT and the National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), a separate body under this Ministry, collaborated to conduct the “National Initiative of School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement” (NISHTHA) Capacity Building Program for EMRS teachers and principals.
Performance
According to the news reports and the NISHTHA portal, major states and all northeastern states have gone beyond their State Resource Group Training targets. For example, Odisha, Haryana, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu trained more State resource persons and Key resource persons than expected. Many smaller states and Union territories also successfully achieved 100% or more of their training goals. Six states are still working on their State Resource Group Training goals. Andhra Pradesh has made no progress, while Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Jammu & Kashmir have only completed some part of their targets. Uttar Pradesh is almost nearing completion, but still listed as “In Progress” since it hasn’t fully met its goal yet. Kerala and West Bengal haven’t started their State Resource Group Training, showing zero progress. Only these two states haven’t started with training. Andhra Pradesh is marked “In Progress”, but has also made no progress.
Emerging Challenges and Issues
Digital Divide – In socially and economically disadvantaged and backwards areas, people don’t have access to digital resources. Due to network problems, many teachers are not able to access the DIKSHA and NISHTHA portals. As a result of these problems, the government is not able to achieve its set targets.
Technological Issues – Some teachers experienced many issues while using the DIKSHA portal. Many faced problems registering or logging in, often because of OTP delays or failures. The DIKSHA app behaved inconsistently across different phones. Teachers also faced these common problems and issues, like login errors and trouble resetting passwords.
Increased Workload – School administrators assign teachers administrative tasks in addition to academic ones. Participation in NISHTHA requires time even outside the school. The teacher might perceive the extra assignment as a pointless task that must be finished for its own sake. A teacher’s unfavourable attitude towards training could be one of the obstacles to achieving the goal of inclusive Education.
Data management and administration issues – Recent government reviews indicate that NISHTHA’s data management and administration have faced some issues. Districts sometimes submit mismatched or late information, which makes it hard to track spending and progress accurately. On top of that, states lack tools to update or correct data, so errors cannot be fixed quickly.
Content Quality – Some teachers have complained regarding the old, theoretical, generic course modules or resources present on the web portals. They do not cater to the needs of contemporary times. Course modules are repetitive or too complex, which makes it difficult for teachers to deliver in classrooms.
Way Forward
To improve the quality of education, it is necessary to improve the way teachers deliver the content. The lecture method is the most exclusive way of teaching, as we have diverse learners in our classrooms. Some are Visual learners, auditory learners, kinaesthetic learners, and tactile learners. NISHTHA must update modules within 6-12 months. The most important issue of concern is the digital divide, which needs to be mitigated so that NISHTHA can bring positive transformation in the realm of Education.
Conclusion
NISHTHA is a broad programme that has the potential to greatly improve the level of schooling in India. The goals of improving student learning outcomes while creating a more active and creative learning environment are in keeping with the focus on learner-centered approaches, holistic development, and the integration of current resources.
Reference
About the Contributor— Gauri Khanna is a research intern at IMPRI.
Acknowledgement: The author sincerely thanks Ms Aasthaba Jadeja and the IMPRI fellows for their valuable contributions.
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organization
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