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Transforming literacy education in India.

Over 34 million children educated.

About 40 percent of the world’s illiterate live in India. While over 95 percent of Indian children are enrolled in school, half cannot read or write, leaving them vulnerable to persistent poverty and child labor. Pratham – founded in 1994 to teach children in Mumbai’s slums – is revitalizing the educational system for children throughout India, working in 21 of its 28 districts. 

Pratham initially delivered basic pre-schooling programs. The organization has since grown to teach English and computer literacy, establish libraries, publish books and offer comprehensive learning support. Its central aim is to execute low cost interventions that complement and maximize government efforts. Pratham’s most notable programme – ‘Read India’ – operates within existing educational structures at the village level to train teachers and harness volunteers (mostly women) to work with students and parents at home, establishing a sustained presence that allows for a deep and permanent impact. Since its inception in 2007, Read India has trained over a million volunteers and teachers, and reached more than 34 million children. 

Committed to rigorous, evidence-based policy reform, Pratham has also, since 2005, conducted the ‘Annual Status of Education Report’ – a nationwide household survey that assesses the impact of government spending on education, and directly influences policy planning at the national and state levels.

(Logo © Pratham)