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Despite the intense heat in India
in April, May and June, school summer vacations provide a
great opportunity for interacting with children. School buildings
are empty and therefore can be used for a variety of children's
activities. In many cases, children especially from poorer
families do not go anywhere for summer vacations - they are
free, available and eager to be engaged in something new and
different.
Following up on the success of the accelerated reading experiments
conducted across the country between January and March, many
Pratham teams decided to use the summer vacations this year
for Read India camps. In Delhi, Lucknow, Allahabad and Ahmedabad
children from the neighbourhood were invited to come to the
nearby school building for a few hours a day. In Rajasthan,
much of the activity was based in the community. In Patna,
Pratham Education Centres were the center of reading activity.
In Ahmedabad, the program was entirely carried out by volunteers
from other non-governmental organizations and colleges. In
Bangalore, summer camps were conducted not only in Kannada
but also in Urdu. The duration of these camps ranged from
three weeks in Patna to eight weeks in Rajasthan.
Close to 46,500 children participated in Read India summer
camps 1. Many of these children were in-school children whose
reading skills needed improvement. Out of school children
who lived in the same locality were also encouraged to join
these camps. In addition, other agencies and organizations
have also used the technique to carry out their own programs
and activities. Across the country, the response from children
and parents has been overwhelmingly positive.
|
Percentage of children
in summer camps: who can
|
Baseline
|
Final test
|
| Read simple text |
18.7
|
56.9
|
| Read simple words & alphabets |
45.8
|
38.1
|
| Unable to recognize alphabets |
35.4
|
5
|
| Total children tested |
41633
|
41162
|
From January to June 2003, Pratham's direct and daily experiences
with children who have participated in Read India activities
will reach close to 160,000 children. In Maharashtra, a successful
pilot in in government schools in two rural blocks, has led
the state government to adopt Pratham's technique state-wide
for all its primary schools. Assisted by Pratham, the government
of Assam is using this technique as an experiment in its urban
programs. Across the country, Pratham teams have been training
and interacting with other NGOs. Thus through Pratham's catalytic
work a much larger number of children have learned to read.
As individuals working with children, this has been a tremendous
learning experience for us. As an organization, it has been
a period of intense activity and reflection. The learning
for Pratham as a whole has been immense.
Read India is an innovation in the
truest sense of the word. Every aspect of our work has been
changed as a result of this new technique. We no longer distinguish
between in school children or out of school children, between
community-based settings and school-based locations. This
head-start in reading is exciting and effective for every
child who has not learned to read yet. We have generated new
materials, experimented with simpler training and communication
techniques, created films to document this exciting time,
innovated with new approaches to assessment and involved a
wide range of partners in evaluating the impact of our work.
Our engagement and partnership with government is much more
active than in the past. Our working relationships with other
agencies, institutions and organizations have moved on to
a newer plane. We are suddenly looking ahead to exciting emerging
horizons in books and libraries to sustain and strengthen
children's interest and reading skills.
We strongly believe that the every
child in India can learn to read in a short span of two to
three months. The results from Pratham's demonstration phase
can be replicated across India. If we can do it, everyone
can do it.
Participation
Of Children In Summer Camps: By City And Duration
|
State
|
City
|
Number of children who took baseline
test
|
Duration of camp: starting date, ending
date
|
Number of actual working
days during summer camp period
|
| Delhi |
Delhi |
19232 |
May 12 - June 21 |
~ 35 days |
|
| Uttar Pardesh |
Noida |
359 |
May 2 - July 3 |
~ 45 days |
| Allahabad |
2308 |
May 12 - June 21 |
~ 35 days |
| Lucknow |
4365 |
May 14 - June 26 |
~ 35 days |
|
| Rajasthan |
Jaipur |
2739 |
Rajasthan figures
are mid test |
| Jodhpur |
2227 |
| Kishangarh |
1154 |
|
| Bihar |
Patna |
1348 |
June 1- june 21 |
~ 18 days |
|
| Karnataka |
Bangalore |
6493 |
April 16 - june 4 |
~ 40 days |
|
| Gujarat |
Ahmedabad |
6182 |
May 1 - june 13 |
~ 21 days |
|
| |
Total |
46407 |
|
|
Source: Pratham Resource Centre: Research and Assessment Unit,
July 2003
SummerCamp
2003 City wise Breakup
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