"A good education is a foundation for a better future." - Elizabeth Warren

We build strong foundations for our homes to make them last for decades; we as a society should follow the identical approach for creating a substantial learning foundation for our young generation. Fundamental Learning learning is critical for a child's holistic growth. A robust foundation is proven to be a ladder to ensure a future where a child can adapt and thrive in the practical world.

National Education Policy states 'a steep learning crisis' exists among the students and our system. The leading causes of Learning Crisis are - Lack of preparedness (ECCE), Lack of Foundational Literacy, a Concentrated focus on reading and other rote learning mechanical skills, Shallow Teacher capacity and deployment, and Health and Nutrition.

The Foundation Learning should focus on play activities and multi-learning based education. The importance of Foundation Learning, too, cannot be underlined enough. These learnings may be specific activities, but their role in a child's understanding is indispensable. They play a crucial role in building critical cognitive, social and emotional skills. They also help build visual skills, listening skills, speaking skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills and enhance cognitive ability and decision-making.

As per the School Education and Sports Department (education.maharashtra.gov.in), Maharashtra has 1,16,233 schools. There are about 22822462 students currently enrolled in schools across the state. These students are primary assets. As per a report by Caixa Bank Research, 'A developed economy will include diverse ambitions with distinguishable competitive advantages and disadvantages in the global marketplace. The education and training of a country's workforce is a significant factor in determining how well the country's economy will perform.' As a country and as a state, we should emphasise how can we make our next generation - Individualistic and Future Ready!

Infusing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in our Foundation Education will be a Merit Good for our society. Technological improvement is pushing transformations in multiple industries. Internet and mobiles are two interconnected technologies that influence our day-to-day lives. In recent years, professionals have forecasted that between 2017 and 2021, the usage of artificial intelligence in schooling in the US will expand by 47.5 per cent. AI and ML can help stakeholders to bridge the learning gap. It can help them Automate Tasks, Deliver Personalised Learning, Provide Univeral Access to every stakeholder, and provide Efficient Content creation and management; it can also assist the teachers, identify student weaknesses and strengths, and provide live life interactive data for better analysis.

Maharashtra is already emphasising the Foundation Development of students. To foster rapid improvement, Public-Private Partnerships can lead the way to Genesis. If we can combine Government's support and Private companies' innovation, I am sure every student will get the Right to Quality and personalised Education. Foundation Education will not just boost Maharashtra's Education Sector but will also increase the GDP in multi-folds.

Author name - Siddharth Roy

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