Children's own reading corners

EDUCATION FOR ALL: An international NGO, in partnership with five state governments, is setting up children's libraries in government-run primary schools.

Several state governments in India have a new mission "" getting children to read, not just language, but also literature.

Room to Read, an international NGO, in partnership with five state governments, is creating opportunities to set up children's libraries in government primary schools.

The initiative was launched in India in April 2003 after a study was undertaken on the school system and the creation of related infrastructure. Starting with Delhi at that time, Room to Read has gradually expanded to Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.

The organisation has established 1,000 libraries in primary schools in these states till now and is planning to set up 400 more this year.

The execution is through partnering with state governments through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan or other education plans.

The schools have to provide the space (room) to set up the library, and Room to Read would provide books, keeping in mind the interests of children.

Speaking to Business Standard, Sunisha Ahuja, country head, Room to Read says, "What we essentially do is form an MoU with the state government and through mutual partnership reach out to the most needy of the children, both in rural and urban segments. At present, our reach is about 200,000 school children in these five states."

Under an understanding with a school for three years, each 'reading room' would be provided with a facilitator from Room to Read initially, whose role will be taken up by school teachers later. A 'reading room' is provided with 1,200 to 1,500 books and the children are free to take them home as well, Ahuja says.

No fine is charged if books get lost or torn, she says.

Room to Read also provides teacher-training and other capacity building programmes at school-level to improve education conditions, she adds.

The NGO, which is supported by organisations like Accenture, GoldmanSachs, Cognizant and Dell, recently received a donation from Credit Suisse and with the funding, hopes to reach out to millions of underprivileged.

"Our aim is to develop libraries in schools as the basic learning institutes and we partner with corporates and governments to achieve this goal," says Ahuja

Room to Read has received invitations from Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Bihar to launch the programme in their states. "In the next three years, we will be moving to different parts of the country with focus on non-Hindi states," she says.

"Our aim is not to form parallel structures but form a conducive government-NGO environment, through which education can be provided to all children," Ahuja says.

Room to Read is also carrying out programmes like 'Room to Grow' (scholarships for girls studying in upper primary sections), computer education for disadvantaged communities and publishing of children's books.

www.roomtoread.org