Students in early grades do not achieve desired reading standards. This has a direct impact on their ability to learn. Sanjay Gupta tells how one can overcome it
It is estimated almost a billion people on Earth cannot read in any language. If you are an Indian, this is not just another statistic to gloss over. A significant number of these people reside in India. What is worse, we are adding to the number each day.
The reading crisis in India is well known just not discussed often enough. Despite boasting the largest numbers of schools in the world, we hang our heads for our inability to eliminate illiteracy even for the school going. Something must be done, and it should be done very quickly.
The reading challenge is daunting: There are many challenges that need to be overcome to fix the ills of our greater than one million government schools. The biggest need is ensuring learning outcomes. Students in early grades, often first-generation learners, do not achieve desired reading standards. As they move into higher grades, inability to read has a direct impact on their ability to learn other subjects. With the size and spread of the problem and the unavailability of qualified teachers, this extraordinary situation needs much more than solutions traditionally attempted.
Deploying technology is a compulsion: The call for technology as an intervention is now a compulsion. There is increasing evidence of the transformational impact of intelligent technology intelligently deployed. For example, an AI technology programme was introduced into 100 government schools just over five years ago. The software’s design was informed by research into how the brain responds to the task of learning a language. The software was trained to read the curriculum prescribed English textbooks.This enabled the use of the programme during normal class hours.
For those not exposed regularly to English, learning the language can be vexatious. English phonics is notoriously arbitrary. Teaching or learning English during a forty minutes’ class period is often near impossible in our government school classrooms. However, the AI technology enabled reading made a big difference. Teachers found it easier to teach and students registered significant gains. The success of the programme has led to its on-going expansion to 1,00,000 schools across the country. Growth that cannot be matched by any solution that relies on human resource.
Technology can support new learning models: The opportunities are in plenty. The same programme can expand its footprint to go beyond the classroom. The AI software is available online and on Play Store. It will be simple for students to access the software at home and read textbooks at their own pace. The software could even help them beyond enabling reading and comprehension. If they need added support to imbibe a concept, the AI technology could guide a search on the internet for additional resource that may be best suited for the learner. It is also possible to develop a virtual network of teachers on demand. These resources can be accessed by anybody irrespective of location or background. Much of this is already in play today.
No child must be left behind: The list goes on, but it is not intended to inventory the technologies available. Such a list would never be complete and would very quickly be rendered obsolete. The goal is to emphasise the scale and severity of the reading problem. Attempting to solve this using only the traditional chalk and talk method is an assured way of killing the dreams of millions of Indian children who are in school today. Technology can be integrated with the curriculum, can enable teaching effectiveness and can also adapt to each student’s needs at school and even beyond the classroom. The internet is nearly everywhere. Smartphones are in almost every hand. With the availability of proven AI technology solutions, there is absolutely no reason for even a single child to be left behind.
The writer is Global CEO, EnglishHelper
