Teachers’ Perceptions about the Mission Buniyaad Programme – A Large-Scale Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Initiative in Delhi Government Schools

There is a prominent shift in the discourse surrounding education policy and practice in India, specifically addressing the need to improve students’ learning outcomes. Several national and global reports have pointed out students’ dismally low foundational learning levels across India. In a bid to improve the learning levels of the students, the government runs national, as well as state-level intervention programmes. This study explores the perceptions of teachers and mentor teachers regarding one such state-level intervention programme: the Mission Buniyaad programme, a foundational literacy and numeracy improvement initiative implemented by the Delhi Government in its Directorate of Education (DoE) schools from 3-8 grades. It is grounded in qualitative research design, employing semi-structured interviews with 10 teachers and 5 mentor-teachers actively involved in the programme. The data is analysed via Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis. The following four major themes emerged from the interviews, providing a comprehensive understanding of the participants’ perspectives – the programme’s need, its design and pedagogical approach, its impact on students’ learning outcomes, and implementational challenges and improvement suggestions. The findings from this study summarize the process, complexity, and overall dynamic nature of implementing the Mission Buniyaad programme. By analysing teachers’ and mentor teachers’ voices and thematically decoding their experiences, it presents a comprehensive understanding of the Mission Buniyaad programme and its impact on learning outcomes against the everyday realities of government schools in Delhi. The key findings pointed towards improvement in foundational learning of children who participated in the programme, inconsistent cascading of the programme, teacher shortage, and resource and infrastructural constraints. Overall, the insights gained from this study hold significant potential to inform policymakers, educators, and programme designers in refining and enhancing the FLN programmes.