Background:

Read Andhra was initiated in order to fill the gap of inadequate access to literacy and numeracy education in the districts of Andhra Pradesh.  Part of the larger Read India project, Read Andhra operates at the Mandal level to improve the learning of government school students.  Volunteer teachers incorporate unique Pratham methodology into a curriculum meant to enhance school based learning.  While there is no formal collaboration with SSA, Pratham’s Read India Project operates outside of the school system while utilizing key partnerships with government institutions in order to attempt sustained systemic change in education.

Objectives:

Read Andhra works in three subject areas:  Math, English, and Language. The project rests on the objective of enabling students to learn to read while also reading to learn.  Through this project, volunteer teachers have attempted to popularize the Pratham methodology among children, while also encouraging them to observe, listen, read, and write with concentration.  Additionally, volunteers aim for every child in Std 1 & 2 to be able to identify letters, words and read a simple sentence.  For children in Std 3-5, objectives are that they should read paragraphs and stories fluently.  Furthermore, all children should speak fluently and write correctly.   In Maths, first and second Std children should identify up to 100 numbers with place value and also compute two digit additions.  Children in Std 3-5 should identify numbers till 100000 (lakh) with expansion and place values. Furthermore, Std 3-5 children should be able to complete the four fundamental Mathematical operations in addition to understanding fractions.   In the English subject area, students should be able to recognize letters by sound, learn mixed and blend letters, and converse in simple sentences. 

Mobilization:

Above mentioned team has divided in to two groups like one is district coordinators and another one is mandal coordinators, these coordinators were together worked and went to the villages, met with panchayat presidents, members, shg members, anganwadi workers, students, preraks, vidyavolunteers, government teachers and other educated people; and motivated them to take part in the CAMaL program,& asked them to teach at least 25 children around their house.  Like this we could mobilize around 580 volunteers in three districts.

Partnerships:

Though we don’t have formal partenership with the state govt. we had good coordination with the MEOs and school head masters at local level for smooth running of the prog.
         The volunteers have been mobilized from several government departments like the ICDS, self help groups and also from the existing para teacher cadre of the primary school system (known as Vidya volunteers).
         Pratham has partnership with Panchayati Raj institutions at village level by conducting village level meetings and participating in Gramsabhas. Team collected letters from Sarpanches also.
         Pratham team also took out rallies and conducted children melas to propagate APAL methods in the village besides running classes. In this regard, team involved Mahila Mandals and DWACRA (Self Help) Groups.

Team

The team includes a state head who is supported by 3 Regional Head. This team is responsible for all coordination with the government, creation of materials, logistics, accounts, and monitoring.
      In addition to this team,in DRC 2 faculty members are there along with the DRC head, and 9 cluster coordinators. In non focus blocks 18 mandal coordinators are working and each m.c is responsible for 3 mandals work. In Krishna and prakasam districts 2 district coordinators and 4 mandal coordinators are employed to work in 4 mandals in addition 24 cluster coordinators are given for effective functioning of the prog. One Mandal Coordinator is responsible of one mandal with responsibilities of mobilization of volunteers, coordinating with different departments, organizing meetings and training volunteers. Cluster Coordinator is responsible of 10 villages. She/he runs a class in her own village and coordinates 10 village volunteers. District coordinators also responsible for the entire program implemented mandals in a district. He is also responsible for mobilization of volunteers, advocacy with different departments, organization meetings and training volunteers.

Trainings:

Capacity building training was given in two phases for district and mandal coordinators in the first phase Acha Padho Acha Likho techniques were taught this training was conducted in Hyderabad at state level in the month of April-2009, after this training all the coordinators were went back to their places and divided district in to two parts and in two different parts in two mandals all the coordinators were gathered and started taking practice classes for one month. Then after in the month of June-09 started second phase training has given for all of our coordinators based on CAMaL methods for ten days (basically APAL is nothing but CAMaL )then they went to their own mandals and started taking classes for 6th standard children, through that these coordinators were got confidence on teaching techniques. Then after some days our coordinator were  gathered all the volunteers from village and in both ways like cluster level and mandal level training was given to them on CAMaL techniques for four days, then those volunteers were started taking classes for children. After taking classes for 6 months some of our volunteers were dropped out and some of them were not so perfect on methods so again we have planned the training in the month of jan-2010. Then we have trained about 360 volunteers for 4 days. After that volunteers again started taking classes. Other than these trainings regular orientations were given to coordinators.

Progress/Implementation:

Read Andhra was piloted between April and March 2009-10, with the program divided into four phases. The first phase lasted from April to June 2009, the second phase from July to September 2009, the third phase from October to December 2009, and lastly, the fourth phase from January to March 2010. The focus during the first major phase was on mobilizing village volunteers, conducting village rallies, writing wall slogans, conducting parents and village committee meetings, and finally, capacity building of the entire Read India Team, which includes Regional Coordinators, District and Mandal Coordinators. In the second phase, the entire focus was on volunteer training, with materials distribution, and the taking of children’s base line tests taken by coordinators. By the end of the second phase APAL (Achapado Acha Likho) methodology was rolled out to all of the focused mandals. In the third and fourth phase, the focus was on program implementation.

Implementation:

A. Trainings:

In the month of April 8th to 15th the first phase on APAL training was imparted to district and mandal coordinators. Subsequently the team started Pilot classes. Entire team was put in 2 divisions of one district each where the team conducted classes for the children during day time and reviewed the day’s program. They did house hold survey of village based on ASER sampling and covered children of entire village.
        Regional Coordinators attended the master trainer’s training program given by National team at Nadiad and Pune.



The second phase of APAL was imparted to the District and Mandal coordinators by the regional team in the month of June (15th to 23rd). The team 66 was divided into two and trainings were given at two locations (Hyderabad and Bapatla).
       All the volunteers were given two phases training. First phase was 3days and second phase was 4days on Language math’s and English. First phase trining was in August 2009 and second phase training was in January 2010.Training was on material usage at the mandal (sub district- area smaller than a block) level before they started the classes. After training these volunteers gathered about 20 above children and on the basis of their learning levels started a daily class with them.

B. Mobilization

Mobilization of volunteers started as soon the team completed their training. And also the team selected one school each in their respective mandals to teach 6th std based on APAL methods. The team was instructed to run a class in the school during day time for std 6th for 2 hours and monitor the classes of volunteers in the villages during evening hours.



The regional and district and Mandal coordinators visited the villages to identify and mobilize volunteers. Trainings of volunteers were conducted at mandal levels. The district and mandal coordinators gave training to village volunteers at mandal level. TLM was distributed to all the volunteers. Subsequently classes were taken up by the volunteers in their villages.
       In addition to the mobilization, training and teacher learning activities conducted in this period, the Pratham state and regional team participated in several other activities. The staff also visited the gramsabhas to conduct awareness meetings with them.The teams visited the gram sabhas, ICDS and SSA meetings to provide orientation on Read India goals and methodologies to the officials.
       Read India classes following the APAL technique were continued in all the villages by the volunteers and schools by the mandal coordinators (6th std).

C. Materials



A kit provided to a volunteer includes 58 story cards, number charts, barakhari chart, currency notes, straws and rubber bands for Maths and manuals. The materials developed by Read AP are appreciated by all the stake holders at all levels as they are very good quality. Materials were distributed to village volunteers.

D. Monitoring

Regional, district and Mandal teams monitored classes at regular intervals. The team plans their schedule at the beginning of each month and based on this plan visit the different villages. During visits they observe the teaching method, usage of teaching learning material, childrens participation in the learning process, etc. They also assess the reading level of a few children in each class and compare notes with the volunteer, who separately makes his or her own assessment of each child.

E. Assessment:

Mandal Excellence Program (MEP)s baseline data was collected based on sample given by State (ASER Center).And final test also will be conducted in the same pattern in month of March 2010.

Highlights

• Pratham has implemented Read Andhra Pradesh (AP) through a volunteer-based program during this period. 
• Across government schools, there is an increased focus on learning.
• Though there is no formal partnership between Pratham and SSA, it is evident that PRATHAM-AP played a major role on learning improvement programs that are visible in schools. 
• English taught in APAL class is an attraction for the children and showing good demand for the same.

Assessment:

District and Mandal teams monitored classes at regular intervals. The team planned their schedule at the beginning of each month and subsequently visited different villages. During visits, they observe the teaching methods, usage of teaching and learning materials, and the childrens participation in the learning process.They also assessed the reading level of a few children in each class and compared notes with the volunteer, who separately made his or her own assessment of each child.