The Crucial Role of Parental Engagement in the Foundational Stage in Government Schools of Nagaland

Parental engagement is a cornerstone of a child’s educational journey, especially during the foundational years when cognitive, emotional, and social development are at their peak. In Nagaland, the government is actively working to strengthen the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme and the role of parents has never been more critical. Despite the unique challenges faced by many families in the region, the active involvement of parents in the foundational stage can significantly enhance the learning outcomes of young children. This article explores the current state of parental engagement in government schools across Nagaland, highlighting its impact on early education and the best practices, challenges and innovative strategies that can be employed to foster stronger partnerships between schools and families.

There are many factors that are responsible for low parent engagement with respect to their child’s education especially in the foundational stage. Besides the lack of awareness, time and given their own low levels of learning, parents are also clueless about how they can contribute towards supporting their child’s educational journey.

In the NEP 2020’s structure of the schooling system, foundational stage education consists of 5 years- 3 years of preschool (Nursery, LKG, UKG) and classes 1 and 2. Nagaland has 1764 government schools catering to the foundational stage education, which includes two (2) years of pre-primary (LKG and UKG) and class 1 and 2 with an enrolment of 52,805 children (source: UDISE 2023-24)

In addition to several factors contributing to the low levels of learning—such as existing learning deficits, lack of trained teachers to handle multi-level/multi-grade classrooms, imbalanced teacher rationalisation, and the capacity of the state to address these challenges—external factors like governance, infrastructure, and limited parental engagement in a child’s education also play a role. While the state has undertaken various initiatives to address these issues, one area that requires focus is increasing parental involvement in a child’s learning process.

Samagra Shiksha, Nagaland, conducted a survey to evaluate the current level of parental engagement in the foundational stage across 1764 schools, with school heads serving as the respondents. Approximately 72% of school heads participated in the survey. Below is a summary of the key findings.

The study highlights current status of Parent-Teacher Meetings (PTMs) and challenges in engaging parents, strategies for effectively involving parents in decision-making regarding their children’s education and tracking successful practices and stories of how government schools in Nagaland with foundational stages are effectively engaging parents.

One of the major areas of focus in the study was the Frequency of PTMs, and the study found that approximately 72% of participants reported conducting PTMs once a quarter, while only 13% held PTMs monthly. Another area of focus was Parental Attendance where around 42% of head teachers indicated that less than half of parents attend PTMs. However, 41% reported that between 51% and 75% of parents participate regularly. Interestingly, only 17% of schools experienced consistently high attendance from 76% to 100% of parents. From this we can draw that PTMs in Nagaland government schools are witnessing a moderate level of parental engagement, with the main reason being the lack of programmes. A significant number of the participants acknowledged that their schools do not have established parent volunteer programmes, committees, or community initiatives. However, it is also worth mentioning that a substantial portion of participants reported the presence of such programs or initiatives in their respective schools.

Another observation in the study was the ‘Perception of Effectiveness’, where approximately 50% of the participants believe that parental engagement is highly effective in improving student learning outcomes. However, a larger proportion (78%) has reported observing moderate to significant improvements in student performance when parents are more involved.

Another area of the study was regarding Parental Support Workshops. Approximately 28% of participants reported providing workshops or sessions to educate parents on supporting their child’s learning at home. On the other hand, 37% of head teachers expressed interest in future offerings to start such workshops or sessions in the future.

Key challenges directly identified in the study were time constraints of parents (73.5%) as the primary obstacle, followed by lack of parental interest (37.3%). Additional challenges included socio-economic barriers (25.6%), language barriers (9.4%), and other factors (12.1%).

The study on parental engagement in Nagaland government schools highlight both the progress made and the challenges that persist. While regular PTMs have positively impacted student performance and behaviour, the report underscores the need for more consistent parental involvement.

Recognising the importance of early childhood education, the State has prioritised strengthening foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) as part of its educational reforms. The introduction of the Nagaland ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) curriculum in schools marks a significant step forward in improving early learning outcomes. The Nagaland Literacy and Numeracy Fest (NLNF), a micro-improvement initiative by the State has been a key intervention to address gaps in foundational learning through guided projects for teachers and school heads. This year, the programme engages teachers in innovative pedagogical practices and micro-approaches to teaching FLN, focusing on the learning objectives of Classes 1-3 in literacy and numeracy. For the school heads, projects are focussed on increasing parental engagement in the foundational stage of education, through innovative and meaningful PTMs which will give a platform for parents to know more about their child, their school, their dreams and the role they play in their child’s learning journey to ensure better learning outcomes.

 Despite these efforts, challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, large class size, low parental awareness on their role and responsibilities and limited resources continue to impact the progress of foundational education in the state. Nonetheless, the State’s commitment to improving early education through initiatives like the Nagaland Literacy and Numeracy Fest, the State ECCE curriculum, and teacher capacity-building programs are efforts in strengthening foundational education. Stressing on the significance and importance of parental engagement in mind SamagraShiksha is organising a Mega Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTM) to be conducted in all Government Schools with foundational stages as a part of the Nagaland Literacy Numeracy Fest 2.0.

With continued focus on these reforms, Nagaland is poised to make significant strides in improving learning outcomes for young students.

Samagra Shiksha

Nagaland