Union Minister of State for Education Smt. Annapurna Devi inaugurated the multimedia exhibition showcasing best practices in education, FLN, digital initiatives, research and skill development. Over 100 exhibitors, including Google, UNICEF, NSDC, NCERT, National Book Trust, Indian Knowledge Systems Division (IKS), startup initiatives and all State Governments are participating in the exhibition. It will be open to local institutions, students, academicians and researchers from June 17 – 22, 2023, except on 19th June, 2023.
A two-day National Conference on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy also commenced in Pune today. MoS, Ministry of Education, Annapurna Devi delivered the inaugural address of the Conference.
The event was also graced by Shri Chandrakant Patil, Minister, Higher and Technical Education, Government of Maharashtra; Shri Deepak Kesarkar, Minister, School Education, Government of Maharashtra; Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, DoSE&L, Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi, Actor, filmmaker and languages expert, and several senior officials of the Ministry of Education and State Education Departments.
Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Annapurna Devi highlighted the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy i.e. NIPUN Bharat Mission, which emphasizes the need to attain Foundational Literacy and Numeracy goals nationally in a time-bound (2026-27) manner.
Smt. Annapurna Devi talked about how this conference will provide a great opportunity to identify and discuss the best practices states are adopting in creating an environment that facilitates foundational literacy and numeracy in young learners. She also highlighted the benefits from the wisdom of experts who shared their invaluable knowledge and experience.
She mentioned how the G20 Education Working Group meetings have helped share some of the best practices from across the globe in the areas of Tech-enabled learning, skilling and future of work, and strengthening research and promoting innovation. She highlighted that the present Working Group Meeting is an opportune moment to organise various events to create more awareness on India’s G20 presidency as well as renew our resolve towards universal attainment of FLN skills.
Shri Chandrakant Patil highlighted Multilingualism as the key that empowers us to navigate through the growing diversity of our world and the need to teach our young generation the skills to choose the right path in this multilingual world while recognizing their own diverse linguistic backgrounds, as talked about extensively in the National Education Policy, 2020.
Mr. Sanjay Kumar lauded the precursory event of the G20 Working Group meeting, the large-scale Janghabidari events, all over the country that created widespread awareness of FLN, NEP, and G20 in India, a movement that has touched more than 4 crores people in the country.
The exhibition showcased the States of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam and Jharkhand presenting the best practices in Foundational Literacy and Numeracy of respective states.
Shri Vipin Kumar, Additional Secretary, School Education proposed the vote of thanks, expressing gratitude to all the members involved in the functioning of the day’s events.