More than 50% of India’s fifth graders struggle to read. You can change that.
Can you imagine your life without reading and writing skills? That's the reality in India, where half of the children now in first grade will be unable to read or write by the time they reach fifth grade.
A Glimpse At Our Literacy Program
We look to fill in the gaps and improve the quality of education provided to Indian children in primary and middle schools. Our learning camps are based on cooperative learning and community. In addition, we engage parents, teachers, volunteers and local governments to ensure children aren’t just sitting at their school desks each day, but are actually learning.
How We Engage Students
We group children based on abilities, not age. In contrast to the traditional approach in India’s classrooms, proficiency-based grouping allows us to ensure every child knows the fundamentals before advancing. Our activity-based learning method incorporates speaking, listening, reading, writing and plenty of encouragement.
Boosting Classroom Learning
Our classrooms and camps are held during school hours, led by teachers and trained community volunteers. Whereas India’s schools lack learning goals and testing, our programs use regular monitoring and assessment. Pratham’s “Teaching at the Right Level” (TaRL) strategy has been evaluated by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, through randomised control trials six times in the last ten years.
Our Impact in Numbers
Our learning interventions have shown a 50% increase in children’s reading levels and a 45% increase in their ability to recognise two- and three-digit numbers after 100 hours of instruction. Of the 346,000 children who participated in Pratham learning camps during the 2015-2016 school year, the percentage who could read increased from 19% to 79%.
Combining Community and Curriculum
We want to increase our reach, sustainably. Pratham has developed a vast network of local volunteers and resources across India to integrate our methods both inside and outside the classroom. Our programs are low-cost and easily replicable, which, along with our extensive teacher training, has helped us expand into 24 cities and 21 of India's 29 states. In addition, we work with governments to test programs, as well as create and monitor standards to each region’s specific needs.
