India’s policy developments since independence have consistently considered teachers as a crucial actor in educational reform. The first National Policy in Education in 1968 recognised teachers as “undoubtedly the most important” factor which determines the quality of education. Recently, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 established teachers as true shapers of the future of children, and by extension, the future of our nation.
As the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) crisis became a central national priority, with rollout of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and subsequently the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN) Bharat mission in 2021, focus on teacher trainings, learning materials and classroom resources has intensified. We are beginning to see the fruits of these efforts in national learning assessment surveys like the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) and Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH) that show an improvement in student learning outcomes. However, we still have a long way to go.
What happens inside classrooms often does not always reflect what our policies intend for practice. Teaching-learning processes in early grades have been somewhat of a black box, with no readily available systemic evidence at scale. An initiative attempting to address this gap is the Teaching-Learning Practices Survey (TLPS). It is India’s first large-scale study dedicated to understanding teaching and learning practices in early-grade classrooms. Anchored by Language and Learning Foundation with support from Tata Trusts and partners such as the Centre for Microfinance, Educational Initiatives, Madhi Foundation, QUEST and Vikramshila Education Resource Society, it covered 1050 Grade 1 and Grade 2 classrooms across 21 districts in 9 states, reaching over 20,000 children.
The Survey presents findings under varied themes like classroom learning environment, lesson planning and delivery, language teaching practices, mathematics teaching practices, and time distribution for different classroom activities for both teachers and children. It also presents teachers’ perceptions on some aspects of FLN and their professional development.
TLPS 2025 Major Findings:
1. In two-thirds of the classrooms, children were mostly quiet and had few opportunities to speak freely, engage in conversation with the teacher, or learn from one another.
2. Although 73% teachers knew the children’s home languages, only 9% used them consistently to enhance children’s participation and comprehension.
3. Only 30% of teachers used differentiated teaching strategies to support children at different learning levels.
4. The use of children’s real-life experiences and open-ended questions to encourage children to think and express themselves during oral language activities was limited.
5. In 53% of classrooms, children did not use TLMs at all.
6. While 52% teachers reported receiving academic support, the remaining 48% reported irregular visits, inadequate or no support.
TLPS 2025 Recommendations
TLPS recommends that teachers need to create a better balance between teacher-centred instruction and learner-centred practices to enhance children’s engagement with learning. There is also a need to plan and manage independent and group tasks more deliberately, particularly in multigrade contexts where their attention is divided.
To support all learners, teachers need to use targeted strategies such as flexible grouping, guided practice in level-based groups, and scaffolded tasks during regular lessons. It is essential to provide extra attention and support to children who are struggling to learn after proper identification.
It is imperative for teachers to use TLMs more consistently and in learner-centred ways. This will ensure that children have regular opportunities to explore concepts hands-on and build conceptual understanding, rather than only observing demonstrations
For system-level changes that can enable and sustain effective teaching practices, TLPS suggests integrating FLN focus within pre-service teacher education programmes and calls for a coherent and practice-focused system of continuous teacher professional development. The report also highlights the importance of addressing home language use, multigrade teaching, and differentiated instruction in a systematic manner.
Received with positivity and appreciation across the FLN ecosystem, the report will help governments, researchers, and civil society partners refine how they design, train, and monitor teaching-learning practices.