A conversation with Benjamin Piper (Director, Global Education Program, Gates Foundation) and Dhir Jhingran (Founder and Executive Director, Language and Learning Foundation)

Why Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) should be a national priority? In this opening episode of Season 2, we begin with the ‘why’. Even as school enrolment has expanded globally, millions of children complete primary school without learning to read with understanding or use numbers meaningfully. This foundational learning crisis has serious consequences for equity, economic growth, and social progress. In conversation with Benjamin Piper, Director, Global Education Program, Gates Foundation, and Dhir Jhingran, Founder and Executive Director, Language and Learning Foundation, the episode explores the scale of the global learning crisis, what foundational literacy and numeracy truly mean, and why getting these basics right in the early years has lifelong impact. The discussion also looks at the vision behind India’s NIPUN Bharat Mission and how a system-wide focus on foundational learning is central to education reform. This episode sets the stage for a season that asks what it will take, in policy, practice, and systems, to ensure that every child learns the foundations well. Know more about LLF:

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