Gujarat

After a highly-successful remedial learning program run by Pratham in cooperation with the state government, Pratham has signed an MoU with the Gujarat education department, the SSA, to develop Pragnya, a state-wide activity-based learning program, which includes curriculum design, training of teachers and government officials, teaching-learning materials, and constant support and monitoring at the ground level. The program has been piloted in 258 schools, and will be scaled up to 2500 schools across the state.

Here is what the Aser report found in Gujarat.

• 96.5% of children in rural areas between 6 and 14 are in school.
• However, only 55% of these children in fifth grade cannot read a 2nd grade text.
• 65% of children in fifth grade cannot do simple subtraction.

Working with communities, we provide a robust Read India campaign and an assortment of other programs:

Read India

In over 1000 villages, Pratham works directly on basic literacy and numeracy, closely monitoring learning outcomes and improvements. In recent months, the program in Surendranagar has focused on an informal partnership with the government’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), training preschool teachers to provide engaging, Activity-based opportunities for early childhood learning.

Education for Education (EFE)

Currently, Pratham is rolling out the EFE program across 6 districts. EFE is a program designed to strengthen Read India by offering courses to volunteers in exchange for her contributions to the program. In the current phase of EFE, computer courses are available, while spoken English will be offered in the future.

Urban Programs

Pratham is running 286 urban centers in Ahmedabad, Baroda, and Surat. Urban programs in Gujarat have been particularly successful at targeting female students, who are often under-served by government schools.

Other Local Programs

Pratham’s efforts extend beyond the classroom, reaching parents, volunteers, and local  officials through meetings and melas to encourage communities to focus on learning  outcomes. Gujarat has piloted the 1 Rupee Testing Program, in which parents watch as  their children are tested in reading and math. This helps parents to see their children’s needs, and often leads them to enroll their children in Read India classes.