Reading campaign from Nov 1

The Uttar Pradesh government will be launching a 45-day campaign from November 1 to inculcate reading habits among children.

The department of basic education has issued directives to education officers across 75 districts for the campaign, which aims to promote a joyful reading culture for children by ensuring availability of age-appropriate reading books in local and regional languages.

Director General, school education, Vijay Kiran Anand has asked all officers to make available the learning material including infographics and activity calendars in schools to encourage students to read. The campaign is an effort by the state government to improve the reading skills among children.

Earlier in January, the Central government, through the department of literacy and school education, had launched a nationwide 100-day reading campaign, 'Padhe Bharat' to inculcate the culture of reading among the young generation.

Foundational learning is the basis of all future learning, officials said. Lack of achieving foundational skills -- reading comprehension, writing and doing basic numeracy -- leaves the child unprepared to deal with the complexities of the curriculum beyond grade 3.

Various researches including the National Achievement Survey (NAS) have pointed out that a large number of students are unable to read a simple grade appropriate passage. The curriculum and textbooks are designed with the expectation that children have acquired grade-level skills and can progress onwards. "The campaign, therefore, is initiated so that each child learns to read and thereafter, can read to learn," said Anand.