Teacher Capacity Building | Ministry of Education

NISHTHA Teacher Training Programme 2026-27: Courses, DIKSHA, FLN & ECCE

NISHTHA-National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement-is an integrated capacity-building programme for teachers, school heads and education functionaries. It promotes competency-based teaching, experiential learning, inclusive classrooms, school leadership, digital pedagogy and continuous professional development.

Updated: 5 September 2026

Current position: NISHTHA remains active through CIET-NCERT and DIKSHA. For Academic Year 2026-27, Cycle 1 began on 21 April 2026 and includes NISHTHA FLN, NISHTHA ECCE and advanced courses. Cycle 2 is scheduled from 1 October 2026 to 15 March 2027.
Historical context: the original 2019 programme focused mainly on elementary-stage teachers and school heads under Samagra Shiksha. NISHTHA has since expanded to Secondary, FLN, ECCE, Educational Technology and other professional-development areas.

What is NISHTHA?

NISHTHA was launched under the Department of School Education & Literacy as part of Samagra Shiksha to improve learning outcomes through integrated teacher training.

The programme was designed to build teacher and school-head competencies and to promote critical thinking, competency-based learning, inclusive education, school leadership and improved classroom practice through nationally developed training modules.

Expected Benefits of NISHTHA

  • Improvement in student learning outcomes.
  • Creation of enabling, inclusive and enriching classroom environments.
  • Teachers better prepared to respond to students' social, emotional and psychological needs.
  • Use of art as pedagogy to support creativity and innovation.
  • Development of students' personal and social qualities.
  • Creation of safe and healthy school environments.
  • Integration of ICT into teaching, learning and assessment.
  • Stress-reducing, competency-focused school-based assessment.
  • Greater use of activity-based and experiential learning instead of rote learning.
  • Stronger academic and administrative leadership by school heads.

Highlights of the Programme

  • Large-scale teacher capacity building across States and Union Territories.
  • Integrated training of principals and school heads as academic leaders.
  • Focus on competency-based and higher-order-thinking-oriented teaching.
  • Support for teachers as first-level counsellors.
  • Promotion of experiential and joyful learning.
  • Awareness of national school-education initiatives.
  • Online monitoring and digital learning support.
  • Convergence of multiple education-development efforts.
  • Activity-based training and practical classroom application.

NISHTHA Courses in Academic Year 2026-27

CIET-NCERT currently lists NISHTHA and related professional-development courses on DIKSHA for Academic Year 2026-27.

Programme / Course Current Details
NISHTHA FLN 30-hour courses in English, Hindi and Urdu during Cycle 1
NISHTHA ECCE 15-hour courses in English and Hindi during Cycle 1
Action Research 15-hour advanced course
Cyber Hygiene Practices 5-hour advanced course
E-waste Awareness 2-hour advanced course
Catch the Rain 2-hour course in English and Hindi

The exact course list can change by cycle. Teachers should always check the current CIET-NCERT course page before enrolment.

Original Generic NISHTHA Course Modules

The shorter 2019 programme page highlighted the following generic offline modules, which remain useful for understanding the original training design:

  • Curriculum, learner-centred pedagogy, learning outcomes and inclusive education;
  • social-personal qualities and safe, healthy school environments;
  • art-integrated learning;
  • school-based assessment;
  • health and well-being; and
  • integration of ICT in teaching-learning and assessment.

How to Join NISHTHA Courses on DIKSHA

  1. Open the official DIKSHA portal or install the DIKSHA School Education app.
  2. Register or sign in using the current DIKSHA login method.
  3. Open the Courses section and search for the relevant NISHTHA course.
  4. Select the current batch and choose "Enroll Now" or "Join Course".
  5. Complete all learning resources, activities and assessments.
  6. Download the certificate after satisfying the course-completion requirements.

NISHTHA Course Certification

CIET-NCERT's current online-course guidance provides for digital certification after successful completion of the prescribed course requirements and assessment.

Assessment thresholds and completion rules can vary by course and cycle. Participants should follow the requirements displayed on the relevant DIKSHA course page.

Current Scope of NISHTHA

NISHTHA has grown beyond its original elementary-stage scope. Current CIET-NCERT material identifies major streams including:

  • NISHTHA Elementary;
  • NISHTHA Secondary;
  • NISHTHA FLN under the NIPUN Bharat framework;
  • NISHTHA ECCE; and
  • NISHTHA Educational Technology.

Additional Continuous Professional Development courses are also offered on DIKSHA in areas such as Educational Technology, ICT, cyber safety and digital education.

Key Points to Remember

  • NISHTHA began under Samagra Shiksha as integrated teacher training.
  • The programme is no longer limited to elementary-stage teachers.
  • Current courses are delivered by CIET-NCERT through DIKSHA.
  • FLN and ECCE courses are part of the active 2026-27 cycle.
  • Teachers should check the live CIET course calendar because course batches and enrolment deadlines change.
  • Certification depends on completion and assessment requirements of the specific course.