Kevileno launches Nagaland Literacy and Numeracy Fest 3.0

Kevileno Angami, Jamithung Lotha, Syed Hyder Ali and officials from Samagra Shiksha Nagaland and SCERT Nagaland during the launch of Nagaland Literacy and Numeracy Fest 3.0 in Kohima on Wednesday. (EM Images)

• KOHIMA — Commissioner and Secretary of School Education and SCERT, Nagaland, Kevileno Angami, on Wednesday launched the Nagaland Literacy and Numeracy Fest (NLNF) 3.0, a micro improvement programme for schools, during a programme held at the Civil Secretariat in Kohima.
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• The programme will commence on May 1 on the DIKSHA portal for teachers and school heads in all schools having foundational classes from Pre-primary to Grade 3.
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• The launch event was held in the presence of Jamithung Lotha, state mission director of Samagra Shiksha, Nagaland; Syed Hyder Ali, senior lead at Shiksha Lokam, Bangalore; and officials from Samagra Shiksha and SCERT Nagaland.

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• Speaking at the launch event held in her office chamber at the Nagaland Civil Secretariat, Kohima, Kevileno expressed her delight at the launch of the fest.
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• She informed that NLNF 3.0 will be conducted in five cycles during the academic year 2025–26. It will cover projects such as tales and stories, read-a-thon, literacy fest, speak-a-thon and write-a-thon for teachers along with projects for school heads focusing on parental engagement and school processes that support the achievement of foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) in government schools.
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• Describing the micro improvement programme as a transformative initiative, she said it aims to promote innovative practices and the creativity of teachers by encouraging small, actionable steps toward achieving larger educational goals.
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• Kevileno noted that the Nagaland Literacy and Numeracy Fest has been implemented in the state since 2022 in collaboration with Shiksha Lokam, Bangalore. She informed that the activities aligned with the NIPUN Bharat Mission to foster improved learning outcomes at the foundational stage, empower educators, enhance student engagement and strengthen community involvement across the state.
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• “Over the past years, school participation in the micro improvement plan activity has been increasing since 2022,” she said.
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• Referring to the annual status of education report (ASER) 2024, she expressed satisfaction with the improvement in arithmetic skills at the foundational stage. She, however, voiced concern on the significant decline in reading levels, especially in private schools.
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• She appealed to all school heads and teachers to implement NLNF 3.0 seriously from May 1 to September 2025, to provide enriching teaching-learning opportunities that promote joyful and meaningful learning. She stated that every activity has been curated in alignment with the academic calendar.
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• Kevileno urged school leaders and teachers to adopt the micro improvement approach in classroom practices and school processes to achieve sustainable and improved educational outcomes. She further appreciated Shiksha Lokam for its continued partnership and called upon all stakeholders to contribute concerted efforts to sustain the initiative.
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• Dr. Bijano Murry, joint mission director of Samagra Shiksha, said the state intended to strengthen the key objectives of the NIPUN Bharat Mission through the micro improvement approach. She encouraged the teachers to undertake innovative classroom projects to achieve FLN goals.
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• She informed that Nagaland started the micro improvement approach in 2022 with a reading festival, followed by the launch of the Nagaland Literacy and Numeracy Fest in 2023.
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• Kelhikha Kenye, deputy mission director of Samagra Shiksha, described the initiative as a year-round micro-improvement plan for schools in order to encourage teachers and school heads to initiate creative teaching and learning activities.
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• He stated that the goal of NIPUN Bharat Mission was to enable all children from 3 to 8 years achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy by the time they turn eight. It means that children should be able to read known and unknown text of about 30 to 40 words per minute with comprehension. By Class 2, they should also be able to perform basic numerical operations including addition, subtraction, and simple multiplication.
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• Kenye expressed hope that the initiative, now in its fourth year, would become a sustainable programme within schools. He added that the long-term goal was to enable the teachers evolve and sustain the programme independently. He also encouraged the teachers to design activities accordingly to provide rich learning experiences.
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• He further called for a collective effort involving parents, teachers, school heads and community leaders by referring to an African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.”