Padippum Inikkum: Accelerated Reading Campaign
Balaji Sampath, AID Jeevan Saathi since 1998 brings this report of efforts led by him in AID ChennaiFact: 50% of Grade V children in Tamil Nadu cannot read a simple paragraph in Tamil. This is after going to school daily for 5 years! A child not being able to read is the single biggest challenge in primary education. If children cannot even read a simple paragraph in Tamil, they cannot follow what is done in school. To address this problem, AID India developed Padippum Inikkum (Joy of Learning, or literally, “Reading can be Sweet!”), a program that ensures that children learn to read Tamil fluently within 5 months. Solution: The Reading Module Individual attention and level-specific activities tailored to each child. The program starts with evaluating the reading levels of all children. This helps the teacher understand what each child knows. Then the teacher conducts one hour of reading class every day using a set of level specific activities to move the child from one level of reading skill to the next till the child is able to read stories fluently. With this module teachers can ensure that within 5 months all children can read Tamil fluently. Implementation: Padippum Inikkum Rollout In January-March 2006, we demonstrated the reading program in 182 schools. The results showed that the number of children reading fluently had doubled within 3 months! With support from the Tamil Nadu government, we expanded the reading program in 5 districts in October 2006. The program reached out to 450,000 children in 7300 schools. Results: In 5 months, children who can read increased from 54% to 85%! 
Expansion: All districts in Tamil Nadu We are now expanding the reading campaign to all districts in Tamil Nadu. We expect that in 3 years we will be able to completely solve the basic reading problem in the state. Reading is just a symptom of a larger learning quality crisis. To address this AID India has launched Eureka Child – an integrated learning improvement initiative. This initiative is not only improving reading levels but also improving Math, Science & pre-primary skills in schools across Tamil Nadu.
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