Chennai: The Tamil Nadu state report of the Teaching Learning Practices Survey (TLPS) 2025 was released on Friday, offering insights into classroom practices for foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) among Classes 1 and 2. The survey found that 94% of primary teachers were aware of foundational literacy and numeracy goals, while nearly 98% had undergone recent in-person FLN training.
The report highlights encouraging progress in teacher preparedness and classroom environments. Almost all teachers reported planning lessons and maintaining documented lesson plans, while classrooms widely used print-rich learning spaces and structured teaching-learning materials to support students.
The survey, however, also pointed to areas that require improvement. Only 28% of classrooms encouraged students by asking "why" and "how" questions, while 39% provided children with independent practice activities. Although 60% of students appeared comfortable participating in classrooms, only 18% of teachers consistently gave students sufficient time to respond to questions.
In mathematics teaching, 35% of classrooms used real-life examples to explain concepts, reflecting efforts to make learning more relatable.
Speaking at the launch, P.A. Naresh, Director of the Directorate of Elementary Education, said Tamil Nadu's strong access and retention rates must now be complemented by better learning outcomes. He stressed the need to address teacher vacancies, improve student engagement and provide teachers with adequate staffing, time and resources to strengthen foundational learning.
The report observed that Tamil Nadu has built a strong foundation in level-based lesson planning, structured teaching-learning resources, teacher training and awareness of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) mission. However, it recommended greater focus on classroom discussions, critical questioning, independent reading and writing, mathematical reasoning and responsive, level-based teaching practices.
TLPS 2025 was conducted between November 2024 and March 2025 across 1,050 classrooms in 21 districts spanning nine states—Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The survey aims to provide evidence-based recommendations to strengthen teaching practices and improve foundational learning outcomes across the country.