India Matters: Storybook literacy
According to the 2012 Rajasthan literacy survey by Pratham, 48 per cent children in class 5 can only read a class 2 textbook. The pastoral and migrant communities struggle hard for a living and are the toughest spots in India's literacy story. Two years ago, a new Kahani movement introduced a simple step - a reading programme and libraries in the villages. The movement resulted in 70 per cent children in these villages becoming eligible for mainstream education. Storybooks have taught them to read and write and also revealed a hunger for education. Children seize the opportunity to express the world around them in creative ways, developing vibrant activities like map making, comics, plays, puppet shows and a village newspaper. Can this literacy movement be used as a model to bring a deeper change?
