Skip to main content

Reach the unreachable: 23-day-long India Gets Reading Campaign


By Sanjay Singh
The International Literacy Day, September 8, saw the culmination of a 23-day-long India Gets Reading Campaign during the educational crisis brought on by the pandemic. With its outbreak in India, schools screeched to a halt; there was no time to think how to tweak the school curriculum or how to make it accessible under the circumstances.
Going with the maxim “never waste a crisis and build back stronger” Room to Read used the challenging times to bring back the focus on literacy and reading through the Reading Campaign 2020. It aims to sustain reading habits among primary school students during unpredictable times through various means.
The reading campaign ended with an international webinar, the highlight of which was a key note address by Dr Maryanne Wolf, an expert on literacy in a digital culture. The The University of California, Los Angeles distinguished visiting professor of education said, “My ideal world does not include total digital online learning for early grade. We are all uncertain what is best for our children. I know many people will be forced to go online for the whole time during Covid, I understand that, but that should not be the In Thing. We don’t want In Thing in education. We want education based on research. That gives us the best chance for the best learning.”
Dr Wolf emphasized on the urgent need of a new pedagogy for early grade language learning in the new normal digital age as the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the education system. Talking about the consequences of digital online education in early grades, she said, “If reading largely changes to adapt to digital characteristics: we will reduce deep reading, with less time to grasp complexity, to understand another’s feelings, to perceive beauty, and to appreciate our cultural heritage. That I why we need to have biliterate approach to early childhood education that means combination of digital and print medium.”
Launched for the first time in 2019, the Reading Campaign was a massive success with its Read-a-Thon witnessing over 10 lakh children spending one hour reading time together with their teachers and families – a feat we are determined to outdo in 2020.
During the pandemic, educationists saw pedagogy compromised due to the absence of face-to-face classroom. Additionally, indirect tutoring also posed a new set of challenges due to the unavailability of digitalized material. The online classes and dissemination of digital learning material for private schools looked like a seamless transition but government school struggled, especially those in far-flung areas where Internet and mobile connectivity posed a daunting challenge for government and NGOs.
Room to Read works in the field of early grade education closely with government schools in nine Indian states viz. Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh.
Sourav Banerjee, country director of Room to Read, talked about various means to reach out children during campaign, “In the short to medium term, there will be a need for home-based learning, and we need to think of ways to develop the home as a learning space. The role of parents will have to be clearly defined. Room to Read is working closely with teachers and academic coordinators to reach out to children and parents with live lessons and worksheets.”
He added, “Learning content is being delivered through local cable TV network, Community Radio, IVR, and apps. The plan is working well and the response of the children as well as parents is very encouraging in our project areas.”
During the pandemic, where physical access to libraries was not possible, Room to Read published its books online making it available to children through various digital platforms. The Flip books were a big hit with the children and disseminated through I-Leap portal of Madhya Pradesh Government.
“The idea is to encourage children to read. It boots creativity as they learn new words and visual images are formed in their brains as they read. Physical books including those with poems, riddles and stories are sent to the children on their parents’ smart phones on Sundays and they can read it at their own pace throughout the week as part of our joyful learning programme. Some books have also been converted into local languages for children of the tribal districts,” said Lokesh Kumar Jatav, commissioner, Rajya Shiksha Kendra, Madhya Pradesh.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) was another platform in operation in three states, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. IVR service, available through a toll-free number (1800 572 1710), enables young children to listen to new stories every day free of cost. It can be accessed with the cheapest feature phone in the market and does not require smart phone and Internet connectivity.
Launching the IVR service, Uttar Pradesh Minister for Basic Education Dr Satish Chandra Dwivedi stated, “The initiative of IVR calls is a great opportunity for children as well as the community. I am sure children will enjoy it surely, I myself will listen to it.”
The minister also lauded Room to Read India for the effort saying, “Room to Read has always set up something innovative be it the resources given to children in the Libraries or E- content.” The combined calls in all three states has crossed 60,000 mark.
Room to Read is a leader in the field of early grade education and has published 1,600 titles and distributed 26 million children’s books in 42 languages. Room to Read joined hands with Google to publish these books and related resources on an online platform called the “Literacy Cloud”.
Sourav Banerjee explains, “The Literacy Cloud in an online repository of Room to Read’s children’s books from all over the world. These colourful books are arranged as per genres and reading levels and there’s a book to suit the taste and reading competency of every child. Apart from the books, the Cloud also has videos and other resources for children, teachers and even authors and illustrators.”
To cater to the children in far flung areas in Uttarakhand where mobile and Internet connectivity is an issue, a van with books constituting a mobile library travelled across the districts of Bageshwar and Rudraprayag during the reading campaign. The van attracted children and adults alike. In Bageshwar district, the books were eagerly consumed by all. Of note was a 75-year-old man who read six books at a go saying he had never seen such interesting and colourful books in his life.
His six year-old granddaughter too eagerly listened to the stories narrated by her mother in the same school premises where the van had set up the mobile library. “The mobile library was conceptualized as one of the means to reach out to remote areas, and encourage children to read by exposing them to good quality reading material,” says Sourav Banerjee, Country Director of Room to Read.
Covid-19 has changed our lives in innumerable ways. The early primary grades, where children are in their foundational years, will probably be the last to come back to school. The children bearing the highest brunt of the pandemic are the ones who need access to high quality education the most. During this crisis, academicians and government will have to work harder than ever to reach the unreachable.

Comments

TRENDING

Crucial to revisit roots, embrace core Hindu principles: love, compassion, harmony

A note on religious leaders'  Satya Dharam Samvad in Haridwar: *** In a groundbreaking gathering, more than 25 religious leaders including Swamis, Acharyas, Pujaris, Gurus, and Sadhvis from all over India convened to discuss the tenets of Hinduism on September 16th, 2023, in Haridwar, to discuss and discern the current trajectory of Hinduism. This brand new initiative, the Satya Dharam Samvad, was inspired to organize its first assembly in response to the December 2021 Dharma Sansad, where hate speech and calls for violence against the Muslim community contravened the essential principles of Hinduism. Religion is being used to incite riots among Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, etc. In the face of such hatred, Swami Raghavendra felt that something meaningful should be done in the present climate. 

Maoist tendency of mechanically adhering to Chinese path ignores Indian conditions

By Harsh Thakor  The C.P.I. (Maoist) formed in 2004 with merger of the C.P.I. (M.L) Peoples War and the Maoist Communist Centre has demonstrated courage in intensity compared to any great revolutionary struggle in the history of the world. It leads the largest armed movement of a Peoples Guerrilla Army in the world today and proved themselves as the true torch bearers of the Indian Communist movement.

Significant step towards empowering and particularly engaging with informal workers

ActionAid note on drive to empower informal sector workers Odisha with the support of District Labour Department: *** The Odisha Unorganised Workers Social Security Board (OUWSSB) facilitated an Unorganized Workers Awareness Camp at the Red Cross Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The event took place in collaboration with the District Labour Department at Khordha, Centre for Child and Women Development and ActionAid Association. This informative event aimed at empowering informal sector workers by disseminating crucial information regarding their eligibility for various social security schemes provided by the Government of Odisha.

Dev Anand ably acted as westernised, urban educated, modern hero, as also anti-hero

By Harsh Thakor  On September 26th we celebrated the birth centenary of legendary actor Dev Anand. Dev Saab carved out a new epoch or made a path breaking contribution in portraying romanticism and action in Bollywood cinema, giving his style or mannerisms a new colour. Arguably no Bollywood star manifested glamour in such a dignified or serene manner or struck the core of an audience’s soul in romantic melodies. Possibly we missed this evergreen star being cast in a Hollywood film. Dev Anand is like an inextinguishable soul of Bollywood. Although not as artistic or intense as Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor or Ashok Kumar ,Dev Anand surpassed them all for liveliness or flamboyance, with his performances radiating g energy on the screen, in realms rarely transcended. In his own right, Dev Saab, was a craftsman, like his classical contemporaries, with a characteristic composure. Perhaps never was a Bollywood star so suave, bubbling or charming as Dev Anand, who often looked like an Indian versi

We need to resurrect Neruda, give birth to poets of his kind amidst neofascist rampage

By Harsh Thakor  On 23rd September we commemorate the 50th death anniversary of Pablo Neruda, whose contribution to revolutionary poetry was path breaking. Pablo Neruda’s poetry manifested the spiritual essence of revolutionary poetry and how poetry was a weapon for a revolutionary struggle. The story of his life illustrated the spiritual transformation undergone a human being to transform him into a revolutionary and how environment shapes the lie of revolutionary.

Grassroots NGO enlightens people of Kupwara with intricacies of Right to Information

J&K RTI Foundation and Founder Civil Rights Movement Kupwara note on how RTI Pend is empowering Kupwara with insights on Right to Information Act: *** RTI Pend, the grassroots initiative aimed at democratizing access to information, hosted its 2nd event in Kupwara. On the request of the Civil Rights Movement Kupwara, this event was tailored to enlighten the people of Kupwara with the intricacies of the Right to Information Act, presented in their local language and dialects. The event successfully bridged both offline and online participation, addressing queries on the spot and offering applicants practical solutions.

Abrogation of Art 370: Increasing alienation, relentless repression, simmering conflict

One year after the abrogation by the Central Government of Art. 370 in Kashmir, what is the situation in the Valley. Have the promises of peace, normalcy and development been realised? What is the current status in the Valley? Here is a detailed note by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties , “Jammu & Kashmir: One Year after Abrogation of Art. 370: Increasing Alienation, Relentless Repression, Simmering Conflict”:

Agro-biodiversity through seed identification, conservation, replication, crop selection

By Kuntal Mukherjee, Basant Yadav, Shivnath Yadav* This article is mainly based on a journey of the three of us since 2010 based on field experience, study of different articles, reflective journeys with local community based organisations, villagers and practitioners in Chhattisgarh. The slow growth of Agriculture in India with near stagnation in productivity since mid ‘80s in contrast to the remarkable growth during the green revolution period has come to the front as a great concern. In post WTO era Indian Agriculture has been witnessing structural changes, uncontrolled influx of agriculture goods and commodities from foreign countries due to open market nature. The gradual reduction in subsidies from internal production leads to increasing cost of production of agriculture produces at the farm gate. It causes gradual decrease in internal production as well as productivity and posing threats to small farm and stakeholders. 

Why Govt of India, Sangh Parivar want to stop the use of ‘India’? What's in a name?

By Ram Puniyani  Coincidentally after the opposition parties came together to form INDIA (Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance), the ruling BJP is desisting from the use of word India in official communiqués and its parent organizations RSS has issued a fatwa that only word Bharat should be used for our country. While inviting the representative’s participants of G 20, the President issued the invitation in the name of ‘Rashtrapati of Bharat’. Since then BJP is on the track of avoiding the use of the word India in all its pronouncements, saying this word smacks of colonial legacy since this word was given to the country by British colonial rulers. Mr. Hemant Biswa Sarma of BJP said that word India is part of the colonial legacy and should be removed. RSS chief and other functionaries have intensified this message. Speaking at a function at Guwahati Mr. Bhagwat, stated “We must stop using the word India and start using Bharat. At times we use India to make those who speak Eng

Sewer workers not given ESI cards that would ensure health benefits they need the most

A note by the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM), an organization working for the issues of sanitation workers in Delhi NCR, on right to life and dignity which still seems light years away for sewer workers: *** Exploitation of Sewer workers is not just a labour issue, but it is rooted in the caste system and cannot be separated from the historical socio-religious-cultural-economic exploitation of the Dalit community! Stated Mr. Y.S. Gill, Senior Journalist and Documentary Film maker in the press conference organised by Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) in Integrated Social Initiatives (ISI), Lodhi Road, New Delhi on issues of sewer workers in Delhi. The press conference was attended by a number of community members, activists, members of the civil society, students etc.