MUMBAI, March 27 -- The latest preliminary report on the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) programme by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has found that while students in civic-run schools are showing steady improvement in basic reading and arithmetic skills, significant learning gaps continue to persist, particularly in comprehension and higher-order problem-solving. One of the key concerns raised in the report is the drop in performance in the second round of assessments, largely attributed to teacher absence owing to election-related duties. The FLN programme, which assesses the ability of children below the age of 10 to read, write and understand basic mathematics, currently covers around 120,000 students from Classes 1 to 4 across BMC schools in all mediums. A review meeting to assess its progress was held on Wednesday at Penguin Auditorium in Byculla, with support from organisations including Muktangan Education Trust, Adani Foundation and Sterlite EdIndia Foundation. According to the report, there has been a noticeable improvement in foundational skills. Many students who earlier struggled to read are now able to recognise letters and read with greater confidence. Basic numeracy levels have also improved, indicating that the programme is helping build a stronger academic base. Teachers have adopted activity-based learning methods and simple exercises to make concepts easier to grasp. Increased individual attention has also helped several students gradually catch up. However, the report highlights that students continue to struggle when the difficulty level of questions increases. While most are able to answer simple questions, performance dips significantly in language comprehension and maths word problems. Students with weaker reading skills find it particularly difficult to interpret questions, directly affecting their ability to solve them, underlining a strong link between language proficiency and mathematical understanding. The report also flags concerns over students' inability to articulate their thoughts. Personal response questions and multi-step problems remain a challenge across grades. At the same time, better performance in practical, real-life questions such as those involving money and currency suggests that contextual learning methods are more effective. Several teachers were deployed for election duties in the lead-up to the second test, resulting in disrupted classroom teaching for nearly two months. This gap had a direct impact on student learning levels, especially in Classes 3 and 4. While the first assessment reflected encouraging progress, the second showed a marginal decline, reinforcing the importance of consistent teacher presence for sustained learning outcomes. Rajeshree Shirwadkar, chairperson of the education committee, said the FLN programme is a crucial intervention. "A strong foundation in reading and mathematics at an early stage will benefit students throughout their academic journey," she said. Deputy commissioner (Education) Prachi Jambhekar noted that the department is closely analysing student responses and question patterns. "Regular analysis is helping us identify where students are struggling and how teaching strategies can be refined," she said. Ranjeet Singh Deol, principal secretary of the school education department, emphasised that strengthening foundational skills is a long-term process. "It cannot be achieved in a year. Continuous and sustained efforts are essential. We are also exploring the possibility of expanding this model to other parts of the state if results remain encouraging," he said....