Abstract:

India puts mathematics education on the centre stage in national development since it is based on scientific literacy, technological proficiency, logical thinking and readiness in the workforce. However, that field has continually experienced the same issues: uneven foundational numeracy, teaching and learning that focuses on examinations, mathematics-related anxiety, differences between school types and regions, and gaps in teacher education. Simultaneously, recent changes in the form of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 are an indication of a significant transition to competency-based, experiential, multilingual, and flexible learning. The article is a review-based research that explores the current situation of mathematics education in India using policy papers, national examinations, and a few empirical research results. It purports that the debate in mathematics education in India needs to shift away from a limited focus on marks and syllabus coverage toward conceptual knowledge, reasoning, problem solving, and inclusion. The article summarises the evidence regarding the levels of student learning, teacher beliefs and competencies, digital interventions, and structural inequalities. It finds that the four interconnected priorities that must be improved to achieve meaningful improvement in mathematics learning in India include improved foundational numeracy, assessment reform, long-term teacher professional development, and digitally sensitive contextual integration. The article provides a policy-driven research-oriented framework to the politicians, teachers, educators, and educational institutions that aim to enhance the performance of mathematics learners and also enable the subject to be more inclusive and valuable to the students throughout India.

Keywords:

Mathematics Education, Foundational Numeracy, Teacher Education, Problem Solving, Digital Learning.

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Methods