Sujata Padhi and Sarojini Mohanto are best friends and like to do things together. They travel to school together, study and play together, and now like to learn in a group. "There are many ways one can learn in a group, and it is not restricted to one group", says Sujata. "It allows us to explore more", adds Sarojini.



We are at Karadiha village in Karanjia block in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district. The two languages spoken in this village are Santhali and Olchi, and as the district has a tribal population, it is a challenge for them to learn in Odiya. However, thanks to the library program in the village and the learning camp in school, children in this village have found a new love for learning. Sujata says the group has also allowed them to develop leadership skills, and learning in groups is something that they have newly discovered, but now everyone is becoming used to it.

"The group allows us to explore each other. If one of us does not know anything, the others help us, and we help them if we know anything", says Sarojini. Both Sujata and Sarojini admit that they have become more interactive, and this is one change they observe in themselves. Sarojini further states that their mothers are a witness to it, and they also feel that their daughters have become more expressive and share a lot of things at home.

Sarojini, the more talkative of the two, smiles when we ask which are their favourite activities. "We like the games and activities, and also puzzles and Antakshari in English. We also enjoy the project work in science", she says. She further admits that language is not a 'problem' for them anymore. However, the difficulties in Math persist, and they are ready to work hard and learn more.

The newfound enthusiasm and interactive behaviour have translated into Sujata and Sarojini's interaction with their school teachers. The latter admit that children have become interactive and participate in the class with enthusiasm.

Dakshaben Tripathi is the principal of the government primary school at Vidi village in Kutch, Gujarat. The school has classrooms till 8th grade. She and her colleague Sanjaybhai who is a teacher are familiar with Pratham's learning camps and speak very fondly about it. Both of them first tell us about the problems faced by the village and the background of the people living there.

Dakshaben Tripathi

"The biggest problem we face here is that parents are not aware whether children are learning anything in school", Dakshaben begins. "They work as autorickshaw drivers, truck drivers and labourers. They are not aware of education." Sanjaybhai nods in agreement. He then points out that these are the reasons for children being irregular in school. From their explanation, it seems clear that absenteeism is one of the major issues in school. The other problem is alcoholism as many villagers indulge in it, and there is a lack of enthusiasm towards learning.

Sanjaybhai Chawda

Vidi is one of the most backward villages in Kutch. It is backward on all three parameters - economic, social and educational. The prominent economic activity here is stone-cutting, and a lot of villagers are engaged in it. Moreover, there is hardly any agricultural activities, and hence no jobs associated with it exist in the village. Because of all these reasons, children do not study beyond 8th grade, that is when they pass out of school.

"The learning camps have helped", says Sanjaybhai. " We like the technique when children are divided into groups as per their learning levels. It ensures that individual attention is given to each one of them." He further stresses that the school does not face a major problem from Math. But language is a problem. A lot of children speak Kachhi at home, and the medium of instruction is Gujarati. We then ask them if they see any difference in children now.

"We find that there is a natural progression in their learning levels. As a consequence, their interest in studies has increased. It has a good effect on them as they now understand the syllabus better than before. This is what happens when you strengthen their fundamentals", says Dakshaben. "It also has improved attendance", says Sanjaybhai. Both of them feel that if the learning camp initiatives continue for a couple of years more, it will benefit all the children in the village improve their learning levels. Both of them have assured their cooperation in these efforts.

"Some children who did not understand anything had developed a tendency of disturbing others. But when they realised that they understand the concept, they began to look inward, and this tendency declined." We are at Sinugra village in the Anjar taluka of Gujarat's Kutch district. And we are the home of Indu ben, the village Sarpanch since May last year. However, she is associated with Pratham for the past five years. She was a government school teacher at the village primary school.



Indu ben recalls that almost thirty years back, no one in the village studied till matriculation. The village population indulges itself in agriculture, and some of them work as daily wage labourers. Many of them also work as rickshaw drivers and seek employment opportunities at Anjar. Also, Kutch is a place where one forms a lot of migrant workers, and all this affects the schools learning levels. "Many children here are first-generation school-goers, and they do not have an environment of learning at home. Because of the nature of their work, parents also do not find much time to know what they are learning in school", she says.

Indu Ben observed that children entering school did not know how to read and write. Owing to the migrating families, some children leave school in between and in some cases, new children join in. And soon she realised that the learning levels are low because the fundamentals are weak. "If children cannot read a sentence properly, how will they read the textbook and progress ahead?" This is the reason she aligned herself with Pratham's 'Read India' program for children in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade and the association has lasted for five years now.

"I could observe a difference in children at the end of the learning camp. They could read better, count well and there was an overall improvement in the learning level", she says. "All this is very important for 5th-grade children. The syllabus in 6th-grade becomes lengthier, and the teacher guidance slowly diminishes. I observed that children who finished the learning camp and then entered 6th-grade could better understand and grasp the new syllabus." Indu ben was also a part of Pratham's 'school readiness' camp conducted in the village in May last year. An assessment of mothers and children was undertaken, and a kit was given which the mothers had to follow while working with children. Indu ben feels that the camp ensured that children were better prepared to enter school.

There are two schools in Sinugra, one for the girls and the other for the boys, and Pratham works in both of them. Indu ben has a lot of hopes from the educational activities in these schools. As a Sarpanch, she has some plans as well! "I want to collaborate with different organisations to start a tuition initiative for children from poor families. This will ensure that they will continue with their studies even after 8th grade. "Education", she says, "...is a long term investment for people in this village. They want to work and get employed. Quality education is a must, and the children here deserve it", she ends with a smile.

"The mind-mapping activity is my favourite." Make no mistake, this sentence is not from a student, but from a school principal! Her name is Saraswati Sahu, and school is at Mahule village in Odisha's Sonepur district. She is implementing Pratham's methods in the school despite facing challenges on multiple fronts.



A large population in Mahule consists of unskilled landless labourers, whereas a section of them work as small-scale farmers and agricultural labourers. Some of these parents, when they go out to work, expect their children to do the household work. That, for Saraswati, is one of the biggest challenges as it directly affects the attendance of children. In addition to this, she also encounters a problem that is beyond her control. "Some families migrate to places like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra to work in the brick-making units. It is a seasonal migration and children also migrate with their families", she says. "And there is a problem of monkeys in this village. They disrupt the fields and hence, parents ask their children to go there and shoo away the monkeys", she says suppressing her smile.

Saraswati came to know of the methodology of 'Teaching at the Right Level' from a representative of Pratham who came to her school. She was aware that despite enrollment, the learning levels of children in her school were low, and after witnessing a demonstration of the method and the activities, she gladly accepted the intervention in her school. She also found that this methodology was very close to the work she was already doing in the village in her own capacity. "Since the past ten years, I am trying to teach children through Barnabodha. I used to teach the syllabus in the morning and then teach them letters and words. But with this method, children are learning faster." She stresses that she likes the way children sit in groups, interact with themselves and solve problems together and admits that for her, this is very innovative! "The weak learners benefit from group learning, whereas worksheets and activities help to harness the talent within them", she says.

Saraswati is also happy that children are learning through tablets and she mentions that their attendance has improved because of the curiosity and excitement associated with it. She gives an example of Mantu, who struggled to read until he came across the tablet. "He enjoys reading, and I am sure he will soon be a fluent reader. It is all because of the tablet."

Today, Saraswati visits almost every household in the village to make parents aware about the importance of education. She claims that it has resulted in fewer children dropping out of school. "The tablets have added to it and made my work simpler. Children attend school because of the tablet", she says. Her next goal is to be a volunteer for Pratham's library program. She is happy that representatives of Pratham gather feedback from every parent involved in the library program and this is the biggest reason for her choosing to be a volunteer for the program. We are sure Saraswati will continue the wonderful work she is doing and will generate a positive impact in her village. 

Vidi village lies in the Anjar taluka of Gujarat's Kutch district. A vast majority of children here are first-generation school-goers, and hence this village has not progressed on the social, economic and educational parameters. People here are involved in laborious jobs, and many of them work as rickshaw drivers and truck drivers. Apart from this, many people here practice seasonal migration to indulge in salt cultivation. Owing to all these factors, children have to change their schools quite often, and this inconsistency has resulted in their poor learning levels.

From left to right - Poonam, Kiran and Vanita

Three cousin sisters - Poonam Parmar, Kiran Parmar and Vanita Parmar - understood this problem and felt that they should do something to solve it. We met them at their home near the village primary school and tried to understand how they are conducting Pratham's library program for children in their village. "We came to know about this program last year", begins Poonam, the eldest who is in 10th grade. Kiran and Vanita, both in 8th grade, nod in agreement. "We liked the concept and felt it would help children of our village read and write better."

The girls admit that they had forgotten a lot of concepts which they learned in school. Hence they liked the learning material of this program along with the activities and games they had to conduct. "It helps us strengthen the fundamental concepts of children, and that enables them to learn better", says Kiran. "... and it also helps us revise what we have forgotten...", adds Vanita with a smile.

What are their observations about children? "We feel that Math is a bigger problem for children as compared to the language. While children can recognise numbers, math operations is still a concern", says Poonam. "At the beginning, some children had a problem of recognising numbers, but then we taught them. That is why we like the activities", says Vanita. All three of them agree that conducting language sessions is easier. Stories and question-answer sessions are the most popular language sessions among children.

There is one more reason why all the three of them are happy about the library program."Our sessions have ensured that children sit in one place and study. Many of them also solve their school homework along with the library activities. These sessions are like tuition classes, which otherwise only a few rich families in the village can afford", says Poonam. "Yes, everyone can study", adds Kiran. As we near the end of the conversation, we ask the three of them how being a part of this program has helped them.

"This program has enabled us to do something for our village. We are glad that we are helping the children and making them better citizens of tomorrow", says Vanita. "...but this program has changed us as well...", she says. "We were less talkative and did not know what to do. We now use our spare time doing some productive work", adds Poonam.

The Parmar sisters are happy that children in their village are learning well. Out of the three Poonam wants to join the police force. The other two want to continue their education and completing 10th grade is their next goal. We wish all of them well for their ambitions in life ahead. 

As we climbed the steep stairs of a pretty house in a village in Kashmir, we were greeted with the
excited chatter of children who were waiting for us for 2 hours. This was one of the many Pratham
libraries where children gather every evening for a few hours and work on reading and math with some fun activities. The volunteer responsible for the group introduced us to the children.

Children were sitting in groups with 1 group leader for each group. Some groups were engaged in
reading and others were huddled on a picture with crayons. The group leaders were actively involved in the process ensuring that everyone gets a chance.

When all the kids left for home we had a small discussion with the group leaders. These leaders were
children themselves but they could explain the entire schedule of the library program. They spoke about the challenges they faced when they could not read and how it helped them in mentoring the new children. One of the children said, “I feel like a teacher. But some of the kids in my group are also my friends so I get to have a lot of fun.”

Another girl smiled and said, “I can talk to my group the way my teacher (the volunteer) did. She was
very patient with me and that’s how I know that I should be patient as well. I use this way of learning
with my younger sister as well.” On this the volunteer said, “These children are more than just group leaders. A lot of children in this library are readers and these group leaders are the ones who put in all the hard work. At times they also help get children to the library in case they don’t come for a few days.”

The children started sharing experiences and funny instances of their time in the library. They spoke
about the challenges they faced with some children in their groups. “One boy in my group kept making silly mistakes in simple math problems. But I did not give up and used straws, stones and whatever I could get my hands on to teach him. He is improving but I think I am growing fond of Math as well,” said another group leader.

It was getting dark so we decided to leave. The bunch of group leaders gathered their books and walked out of the house with a happy and proud smile on their face.

                                       

Pratham's learning camps are an effective way for demonstrating the impact of our approach - convincing governments and other organisations that change is possible, even in a short span of time. The following is a small incident, a few months into my joining Pratham, where I had the privilege to experience this first hand (2016). 

Pratham's learning camps are an effective way for demonstrating the impact of our approach - convincing governments and other organizations that change is possible, even in a short span of time. The following is a small incident, a few months into my joining Pratham, where I had the privilege to experience this first hand. I sometimes forget how large the state of Uttar Pradesh is. Not just in terms of size, which is about the same as a small European country. But in terms of population. Which is about the same as the United States of America. With hundreds of millions of people split across religion, caste and class, I am often forced to wonder, what impact can a few hundred people have? However, on a warm summer day in Auraiya, a small district in a corner of Uttar Pradesh, I finally realized the answer to that question - quite a fair bit.



It was the month of April and we were organizing a small event to mark the closure of the program. It had been a long year, with camps organized in 100 schools. Not an insignificant number, mind you, but not a lot considering the district had about 1,000 government primary schools. And I only needed the back of an envelope to estimate that we would need to work in Auraiya for at least half a decade, if we wanted to reach even half that number. But improving learning outcomes for 7,000 plus children was a good year's work no matter how you looked at it and the people that day deserved to commemorate closure for organizing and supporting such a successful program.

Who were these people though? There were Pratham staff, who had conducted the intervention and were now organizing the event. There were the donors, whose generosity and support had made all this possible. There were a few children and teachers who we had interacted with over the course of the intervention. And then there were some government officials who had allowed us to do all this work in schools.



The event started as all events do (for the organizers anyway) – in a fair degree of chaos. And the chief guest (as chief guests do)was running late. Unfortunately, the guest was no ordinary person without whom we could begin things and continue as we wished. She was the district magistrate – essentially the senior-most government official of the district – and we could really not get things rolling without her. In her absence most of us were getting uneasy, wondering if she would turn up at all. But turn up she did and once present, the magistrate was most gracious in all her interactions - right from the donors to the children.

 It was during one such interaction, when she asked a small girl to read a passage about a hare and a tortoise.

Now, this was a girl who at the start of the intervention had been unable to read words and who we were now proclaiming to be able to read basic stories. And so I was fairly confident that the girl would be able to read the passage. The only thing I was slightly unsure about was if she would be unnerved by what was by then a fairly large audience (I knew I would be had I been in her place).

But the girl read the passage. And read it well she did.



Suitably impressed, the magistrate then asked the girl what she learnt from the story.

If earlier I had been unsure how the girl would handle the audience, I  did not have any idea what she would say. And for a split second, I thought neither, did she? But the girl thought for a moment. And she replied saying that she learnt that you should not be arrogant. That you should not be overconfident.

The magistrate was floored by her response! She became extremely nostalgic, speaking about her experiences from her own childhood and how her teachers had helped her over the years. Having witnessed the impact firsthand, she expressed her appreciation for Pratham’s approach and even enthusiastically invited us for further discussions to explore how we all could potentially collaborate together.

 And it was as a result of all this that from 7,000 children across 100 schools in 2015-16, we reached over 60,000 children across 1,000 schools the subsequent year. The only difference? It was government school teachers themselves who implemented the approach - the Pratham team of 25-odd people having evolved from implementers to mentors.



Looking back, it is easy to think why I was sceptical of the impact that a few people can bring about. But after having witnessed first-hand the visible and demonstrable impact of our work, I can confidently say that never have I been happier to be proven wrong – or more accurately have the back of an envelope calculations made void!

 From Auraiya district, Uttar Pradesh.

The author is Arjun Agarwal. He is a member of Pratham’s national Program Management Team. He supports the Uttar Pradesh Pratham team in managing all their education programs.