Govindpuri slum girl teaches friends with NGOs’ learning tools
The initiative, started by an alliance of NGOs and corporate houses, aims at helping children read and write with the help of other children in 17 states
Age is just a number for 11-year-old Shehzadi, as she has begun a mission to help other children learn by becoming their teacher.
A resident of a Govindpuri slum in South Delhi, Shehzadi’s goal is part of an initiative that was launched in the capital on Thursday.
Called 300M or the 300 “Million Challenge” it seeks to draw thousands of young boys and girls into education by making learning fun.
“There are many children out there who cannot read or write. The facilities
that students get in government schools are not sufficient,” the class 6 student at the Katha Lab School said at the launch.
The initiative, started by an alliance of NGOs and corporate houses, aims at helping children read and write with the help of other children in 17 states.
“There are 150 million children who can read, and 150 million who can’t. If children can make the difference, they must start with one another, with their own world, the NGO and literary house Katha, which leads the campaign, said in a statement. With the help of colourful books, libraries, e-books and apps, the mission seeks to mentor children in the 5-10 age group to begin with.
The goal is to strengten the government school system with mindful, well designed books and learning that will enhance the joy of reading for children, said Katha executive director, Geeta Dharmarajan.
According to a UNESCO report of September 2016, India will be half a century late in achieving its universal education goals. The country will be able to reach universal primary education only by 2050.
With the collective partnership of NGOs such as Help Age India, Teach for India and SEWA, the campaign which is being supported by private companies, has made a plan under which groups of children will read together with diffident child readers who are at risk of dropping out of schools.