Under the ‘Right to Read’ program, the Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Pune has developed an app for students which will enable them with the necessary tools required for English reading practice on their smartphones.
This venture is an extension of the ‘Right to Read’ initiative which was started in 2018 when the Government of Maharashtra, Schoolnet and EnglishHelper signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Under this MoU, the Right to Read program was implemented in 65,000 government schools in the state. This technology-driven method enables students to enhance their reading skills in English.
Vikas Garad, SCERT deputy director said that this ‘Right to Read’ initiative has reached over 20,000 schools in Maharashtra.
“Of the 65,000 government schools, we were successful in reaching over 20,000 schools in the state. Some schools had technical challenges and sometimes needed to sort them and reach the children. However, since 2020, schools have been shut and online education has begun,” said Garad.
As a result, students could not reach out to schools for technical needs like computers and required software to take assistance from this initiative during the pandemic.
{{/usCountry}}As a result, students could not reach out to schools for technical needs like computers and required software to take assistance from this initiative during the pandemic.
{{/usCountry}}“In order to address this issue, the NGO has come up with an app or application that every student can access. These will help the students access all the required things on their phone,” said Garad.
SCERT is yet to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to start this.
“We have all the required documents in place and soon we shall sign a MoU so that students across Maharashtra can access this application and learn to read English better. After signing the MoU, students can access this application free of cost,” said Garad.