Libraries For Advocacy, Action and Academia

Year after year in India, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) published by NGO Pratham has shown that school children are struggling to acquire grade-level basic literacy and arithmetic skills. In 2018, it was reported that only 27.3% of children studying in grade 3 were able to read grade 2 level text. Since the pandemic, that percentage has reduced to 20.5% as per the 2022 report. The 2018 report also claims that only 25% of children in rural India leave standard 8 with basic reading skills. Additionally, when it comes to mathematics performance and STEM participation, a gender gap that adversely affects school-going girls in learning outcomes points to a greater need of making foundational education all-inclusive and encouraging. Libraries play a crucial role in eradicating the fear of language and improving the comprehension skills of children. However, as per data from Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+), even though 84% of schools across India have libraries, only 69.4% of them have libraries with books. Even more alarming, as per the Indian School Library Association study of 2017, just 28.95% of schools had a librarian. The early learning crisis faced by an estimated 100 million Indian students highlights the critical need of school children to achieve Foundational Literacy and Numeracy skills. Globally, nearly two-thirds of 10-year-olds are estimated to be unable to read and understand a simple text as per UNICEF. According to a 2021 report published by Save The Children, more than 393 million children have failed to gain basic literacy skills at age 10 since world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.

Our solution called the 'Library Development Program' aims to create school and community libraries for disadvantaged children as free spaces for inspired and creative learning. Share A Book India Association (SABIA) is taking youth to the forefront of this opportunity for social-emotional learning and holistic personality development. This is done by making the libraries student-led, taking the consensus of library members, and encouraging them to answer the questions - how they want to learn and what medium they want to learn in. This will eventually help in the capacity building of youth and raise self-awareness so that they feel empowered. Our organization, SABIA, is already implementing this solution for policy-level changes through student advocacy in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan (India) and the next step is to target tier II & III cities starting with Kota. We are empowering children studying in Indian public schools by making reading accessible to them in their schools and marginalized communities. Apart from access to reading resources like books, magazines, and newspapers, we also use storytelling in libraries as a medium to teach children and even teachers and facilitators social-emotional and life skills like observation and comprehension. It has been widely noticed that disadvantaged children lack the ability or freedom to properly express themselves and are often afraid to do so. Hence, their views are not taken into account when implementing schemes that directly impact them. The solution that SABIA aims to provide is and will change this on a large scale. By giving them these required social skills, we want children to be aware of their rights, demand them where necessary, and eventually grow up to be responsible and productive adults of society, capable of leading meaningful lives.

The Library Development Program is specifically tailored to cater to the needs of schoolchildren studying in government schools, school drop-outs, and those belonging to marginalized communities. 'Reading poverty' and lack of self-awareness among these sections of our society has led them to believe that their opinions and dreams do not matter. Often, especially children, grow into frustrated unproductive individuals who do not care about the world they live in as they believe that the world doesn't care for them. In a society believed to be equal and free, these citizens are not free to think and act of their own accord. Due to lack of awareness, right to choose, right to express, right to enter public spaces among other fundamental rights are foreign concepts to them. However, reading is thinking. Access to books and community+classroom engagement using storytelling as a medium to build social skills can change this and break a cycle of disempowerment and poverty. We can address the learning crisis and lost potential of these children by nurturing a love for learning through reading resources and enabling them with the ability to read. 

Share A Book India Association (SABIA) is a registered, women-led non-profit organization, providing quality education to children aged 6-14 years, in the rural and remotest parts of India. To achieve this, we are revolutionizing education by making reading accessible through school and community libraries. We are currently working with 175 schools and 10 communities in 33 districts of 16 states & 3 UTs across India.

Our project significantly relies on the power of beneficiary engagement. To ensure success, student leaders and their parents are actively involved by our team through the following strategies-

1.  Capacity Building and Training: Monthly workshops by expert trainers are facilitated by us to train the students in Leadership skills, Interpersonal Skills, Public speaking, and the Art of Storytelling through different creative media (written, drawn, or oral)

2. Information Dissemination Seminars: Students are encouraged to join us and lead activities like meeting with district-level education officials, public campaigns, etc.

3. Meeting with decision-makers: We engage with the decision-makers fro policy changes to achieve our advocacy goals and sensitize them by arranging meetings led by student leaders.

4. School Management Committee: We often have to pressure the school staff to organize regular SMC meetings in which students and their parents/guardians constitute the general assembly.

5. Exposure to Digital/Broadcast Media: Our team also arranges for interviews of student leaders and their parents/guardians through radio, newspapers, or magazines. Student leaders have also written to newspapers and invited new campaign members to sign online petitions. Social media and blogging is also used by us to spread their message and video testimonials.

Being a part of this prestigious network of innovators and solvers will add credibility to our program. It will also provide us with a global platform to showcase our solution to changemakers, pioneers and mentors. As an early-stage solution looking to scale, this can be the right opportunity for us at the right time.