Medak Summer Camp Initiation 2008

BACKGROUND  

Pratham's vision is to enable every child in India to go to school regularly and to learn well.  We also believe that we must strengthen our schools and communities so that our children can get the best education possible.  In order to translate this vision into practice, Pratham works with children in communities and also with teachers in schools.  In almost 50 cities, in India , we have community based as well as school based learning support programs and children's libraries.  

Pratham programmes are offered in communities and schools in the languages that the children speak. Since 2002, Pratham has been using an accelerated learning technique called “Learning to Read”.  Using simple interactive activities and materials, this technique enables children, especially those who are seven or eight years or older to learn to read simple text in about three months.  This technique has been used widely in many states by state governments and in community programmes.

In many cities in India , like Hyderabad , Mumbai , Bangalore and Nagpur , many government schools have Urdu as the medium of instruction.  In many urban communities, parents want their children to be taught in their mother tongue.  Pratham's Urdu initiative has grown as a response to these demands from schools and families.   The Urdu accelerated learning technique is modeled on the Pratham technique that has evolved in other languages but has been modified to the specific characteristics of the Urdu language.  The Urdu method has been used in a variety of school and community settings with excellent results in terms of improvements in children's ability to read.

Currently the Urdu programme is available for several age groups.   

For every level, children are also encouraged to write.  

Growth of Pratham's Urdu Program  

Largest programs have been in Hyd  

Pratham's Urdu programs are mostly conducted in urban slums. A “community” or “basti” of about 250 to 300 households is clearly demarcated.  At the beginning of the academic year, Pratham conducts a door-to-door survey in the bastis to understand the answer to four basic questions  

This survey helps Pratham's Urdu program in assessing the need in each community. Based on the need and on the resources available to Pratham, programme or interventions are initiated so that the answers to the questions asked above can be “yes” in a period of a year or two.  

To start work, Pratham teams :  

The Pratham programmes that are offered in Urdu include :

To share and strengthen Pratham's Urdu initiative a 3 day seminar was conducted in Hyderabad . The aim of the seminar was to share experiences, materials, methods and strategies.  The seminar was also intended to expand the reach of the Urdu initiative to a wider audience. In the forum, volunteers from different parts of India shared their success stories along with locally produced reading material in their respective states.  The seminar was attended by writers, professors, govt officials, Pratham volunteers, Mandal Resource Persons (MRPs), Deputy Inspecting Officers (DIOs) from different states where Pratham's Urdu program was being implemented. The Seminar also saw the presence of State Project Director and Additional Project Coordinator from Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan along with Vice Chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia University and Ex-Minister of Education in AP Mr Babu Khan.  Dr Madhav Chavan, Director Pratham also graced the occasion with his presence.