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and effective for young students. digital literacy to effectively use these tools for learning
foundational skills.
Creation of age-appropriate content under CSR can
go help in making curriculum relevant to meet specific Provision of digital devices from an early age under
needs of the kids. aegis of CSR can help in filling these gaps for the kids.

4. Language Barriers 10. Insufficient Focus on Socio-emotional
Children are often taught in regional languages at Development
an early age. As the children grow older educational Neglect of Socio-emotional Learning: Socio-emotional
materials and books in regional languages are often development, which is essential for a child’s overall
limited, which can hinder the development of advanced cognitive and social growth, is often overlooked.
skills in these kids. Children need to develop skills like self-awareness,
collaboration, and problem-solving alongside literacy
Consistency in the medium of instruction from an and numeracy for a holistic foundation.
early age is therefore crucial. Language gaps can
significantly delay learning, particularly in reading and Deployment of trained teachers and counsellors under
comprehension. CSR can be considered to overcome this challenge.

Introducing English language skills early on at least 11. Policy Gaps and Implementation
as second language combined with the integration Challenges
of technology, is essential to engage students and Weak Implementation of Policies: While there are
help them become comfortable with adopting new government initiatives like the National Education
technologies and language which are key drivers of free of costs from schools is required so that children Limited Resources in Government Schools: Many Policy (NEP 2020) that emphasize the importance of
productivity and economic progress in fields like IT, can practice learning at home is need of the hour. government schools lack adequate teaching aids, books, foundational literacy and numeracy, implementation
automation, and AI. Creation of model Anganwadi under CSR will be a and other learning materials that can help foster basic remains a challenge, especially in remote and
worthy initiative from corporates in this regard. skills. Without engaging resources, children may lose underserved areas.
From an economic perspective, equipping future interest in learning foundational concepts.
citizens with the ability to embrace new technologies 6. Assessment and Learning Gaps Lack of Coordinated Efforts: The fragmented approach
is vital for positioning the country as a leader in global Focus on Summative Assessment: Schools often 8. Lack of Emphasis on Foundational Skills in between different states and school systems, as well as
technological advancements. emphasize standardized tests and assessments Higher Grades a lack of collaboration between various stakeholders
that measure rote memorization rather than skill Promoting Students Without Mastery: In many cases, (government, NGOs, private sector), leads to
Introduction of English as language under remedial development. This prevents teachers from identifying children are promoted to the next grade even if they inconsistent results in improving foundational skills.
classes under CSR sponsorship from a very early age and addressing gaps in children’s foundational skills have not mastered the foundational skills of reading
will help these kids tremendously. early on. Lack of diagnosis of conditions like autism and and math. This creates a cumulative learning deficit that Arranging training for NEP and helping rollout of NEP
learning disabilities compound the problems in these becomes harder to address as they progress through at a district level under CSR would be great initiative to
5. Socio-economic Barriers kids. school. consider.
Poverty and Malnutrition: Many children come from
economically disadvantaged families, which affects Learning Gaps in Early Grades: Many students move Teacher Expectations: Many teachers in higher 12. Learning Loss due to COVID-19
their ability to focus on learning due to malnutrition. to higher grades without mastering basic reading and grades assume that students have already mastered Pandemic Impact: The COVID-19 pandemic has
Poor health and malnutrition are major factors that arithmetic skills. These gaps widen over time, making foundational skills, leading them to focus on more significantly impacted early education, leading to
influence cognitive development and the ability to grasp it harder for children to catch up with their peers and advanced content. This further marginalizes students learning loss for many children, especially those in low-
foundational skills. impacting their long-term educational outcomes. who have gaps in early learning. income and rural settings. The extended school closures
Remedial classes in afterschool hours will help the and the lack of effective online learning options have
Limited Parental Support: In lower-income families, kids catch up with their peers and will go a long way in 9. Ineffective Use of Technology worsened the gaps in foundational skills.
parents may lack the time, education, or resources to making them ready for higher education. Digital Divide: While technology could play a crucial
support their children’s early learning at home. This role in strengthening foundational skills, there is a wide Addressing these challenges will require understanding
limits reinforcement of foundational skills outside 7. Teacher-Student Ratio and Classroom digital divide. Children in rural areas or lower-income the gap, devising suitable strategy to tackle these gaps
school. Environment households often lack access to devices, the internet, and implementation on the ground of the same is need
High Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Overcrowded classrooms, and digital learning platforms which results in them not of the hour.
Lack of study materials: Lack of study materials which particularly in government schools, make it difficult for opting for STEM in higher education programs due to
can help in comprehension and reinforcement of teachers to provide individualized attention. As a result, lack of confidence. Work on pre-primary education requires a lot of
foundational skills needs to be looked at. children struggling with foundational skills do not get patience and effort from CSR partners. The result takes
the support they need. Low Digital Literacy: Even when technology is available, a long time to be visible, but the impact will very worthy
Distribution of worksheets, reinforcement materials both students and teachers may lack the necessary of the effort put in by the donor.

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