A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Room to Read launched its operations in India in 2003, as the country's few children’s education programs that develop both literacy skills and reading habits. Since then, the initiative has gained in momentum, and is today the largest operating region for the organization. Room to Read India today partners with government schools in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana.
The need for foundational literacy
India’s pioneering National Education Policy 2020 mentions the critical need for foundational literacy and numeracy. The policy notes, “The ability to read and write, and perform basic operations with numbers, is a necessary foundation and an indispensable prerequisite for all future schooling and lifelong learning. However, various governmental, as well as non-governmental surveys, indicate that we are currently in a learning crisis: a large proportion of students currently in elementary school - estimated to be over 5 crores in number - have not attained foundational literacy and numeracy, i.e., the ability to read and comprehend basic text and the ability to carry out basic addition and subtraction with Indian numerals. Attaining foundational literacy and numeracy for all children will thus become an urgent national mission, with immediate measures to be taken on many fronts and with clear goals that will be attained in the short term (including that every student will attain foundational literacy and numeracy by Grade 3). The highest priority of the education system will be to achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy in primary school by 2025. The rest of this Policy will become relevant for our students only if this most basic learning requirement (i.e., reading, writing, and arithmetic at the foundational level) is first achieved.”
Given Room to Read’s focus on developing both literacy skills and reading habits, we are pleased to see the thrust on foundational literacy.
A holistic approach to learning
A core component of our Literacy Program is our reading instruction. The Reading instruction is based on scientific research as well as contextualized to the core, to suit the country contexts. Room to Read's innovative Literacy Program ensures primary schools have libraries filled with books in the children’s local languages, as well as teachers and librarians who are trained on how to engage a classroom of eager, young learners. By the end of grade 2, children in Room to Read's Literacy Program read 2 to 3 times faster and read with 87% greater comprehension than their peers in non-Room to Read program schools.
We understand that beginning readers need books and instructional materials designed for their skill levels. Challenging or complex texts can intimidate students and discourage their practice. Unfortunately, books for early readers are often limited or nonexistent in the countries where we work.
To remedy this, we create local language materials that readers at various levels can enjoy. These books cover topics that capture children’s imaginations and make reading fun. Our goal is inspire children to read, expand their minds, and develop a lifelong love for reading and learning.
One of the most transformational ways that learning can be encouraged is by promoting the habit of reading among children through the establishment of child-friendly libraries. Room to Read’s school libraries are one component of the organization’s larger Literacy Program. The Literacy Program transforms government primary schools into comprehensive learning environments that enable children to develop the skills and habit of reading and become life-long, independent readers. Room to Read establishes libraries by: (1) providing schools with the resources necessary to establish a child-friendly library; (2) enlisting the community to co-invest to ensure long-term sustainability of that library; (3) building the capacity of teachers and librarians to manage the library and conduct reading activities for students; and (4) providing three years of ongoing monitoring and support to schools.
If children are empowered early, they read with understanding, and view reading as exciting and fun. By the completion of primary school, these children are able and motivated to read independently and are eager and proud to read both at school and at home. A library can play a vital role in a child’s development, as children are able to read and take part in reading activities in a welcoming, supportive, and non-threatening environment. India accounts for a significant percentage of the global library base and books in local languages are provided at libraries to encourage reading.
We are constantly challenging ourselves and have a continuous learning mindset with the core objective of improving our standards and setting new benchmarks. We have used innovative methods to assess the impact of our program by measuring their academic progression over the years.
A unique scaffolded approach
All our projects are scaled on a scaffolded approach of ‘I do – We do – You do’, which involves: (1) Demonstration of the program model in selected government schools by Room to Read, (2) Close collaboration with the government to scale up the program model across an entire district and (3) Handing over the program model to the government for replication. This approach has helped us work closely with government institutions at all levels (district and sub-district levels) to ensure that there is not only understanding but also greater ownership. This model has proved to be much more sustainable and scalable.
Why the focus on learning must continue
Today, in the background of the Covid-19 pandemic, this is far more important as there was already a learning crisis even before the pandemic began. Closures don't just represent a pause to education; they can be an end forever for the education of many children. We are already seeing projections that 24 million students may not return to school after the pandemic and that's because they are already facing the challenges associated with poverty and the financial impact of this pandemic on their homes. The digital divide that existed before now has widened as many of these children can't access the remote learning opportunities that government school systems have been depending on. We have to be extremely vigilant as this once in a generation threat to education can undo the huge progress done till date, and illiteracy rates among young people could rise for the first time in many years. At Room to Read, we are in constant touch with key government officials and policy makers to ensure that the focus on learning continues.
Our partnerships with local organizations and governments have helped us amplify our impact. With the mandatory inclusion of school libraries under the Right to Education Act and focus on foundational literacy under NEP, Room to Read is prepared to shape the future of children across India in a long-lasting and scalable way.
Author
Rishi is currently working as Sr. Manager, Program Operations. Over last 15 years, Rishi has designed and led the implementation of various interventions in the field of education. He has worked with multiple state governments and also handled multi-year grants from various national and international development agencies. Rishi has a PG Diploma in Rural Management.
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