- Portable libraries to be setup in 330 government schoolsto benefit 50,000 school children across the state
India, 2023:As of part its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Indus Towers Limited supports Pratham Books to launch Library-in-a-Classroom in Gujarat. Under this initiative, portable reading corners will be set up in 330 government schools across the statebenefitting 50,000 students. The initiative was inaugurated by the Honourable Education Minister of Gujarat,Prof. Dr.KuberbhaiMansukhbhaiDindorat an event in Kalol,Gandhinagar District. This partnership between Pratham Books, an award-winning children’s book publisher and Indus Towers, India’s leading provider of telecom infrastructure aims to put ‘a book in every child’s hand’ to share the joy of reading.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasises the importance of well-stocked school libraries to attain the goal of foundational literacy for all children by 2025. It recommends making quality children’s literature available in all local languages to build a culture of reading across the country, setting aside specific hours in school to nurture a habit of reading for pleasure from a young age. Stories and reading are an important part of children’s growth and development, encouraging them to build vocabulary, derive connections between stories and their own lives, and understand how different people think about different things. Children who read more, learn better and are more likely to succeed at school as well as in life.
The library-in-a-Classroom from Pratham Books was designed to address the scarcity of infrastructure and resources that most government and affordable private schools face, and quite literally is a portable library that hangs on the wall displaying 100+ colourful, engaging storybooks from Pratham Books. With the Library-in-a-Classroom, the child enjoys invaluable physical proximity to printed books, which in turn encourages her to read and develop emotionally and intellectually. Global research suggests that merely providing a library-like atmosphere can encourage children to spend more time reading, and this initiative aims to do just that by giving children the space and opportunity to freely interact with storybooks attractively displayed on the wall instead of locked up in a cupboard.
The storybooks in the libraries are customised to specific needs of the school and classroom, with offerings for different levels of reading in different languages, as well as books on a wide range of themes from environment, conservation and wildlife to STEM, Social and Emotional Learning and compassion towards animals, to name just a few.
The programme was attended byMr LaxmanjiThakor, MLA- Kalol, Mr Mahesh Mehta- Secretary SamgraSikshaAbhiyan and Mr B N Prajapati- District Education officer, Gandhinagar who shared valuable insights on this initiative with the participants present at the event and appreciated the efforts of Pratham Books and Indus Towers.
Honourable Education Minister, Prof. Dr.KuberbhaiMansukhbhaiDindorsaid, “This is a tremendous initiative by Indus Towers and Pratham Books. It’s particularly great to have a leading corporate like Indus Towers take steps through their CSR program that will result in children picking up a habit that will serve them well throughout their lifetime. Also, as these portable libraries will be stocked with books that are relevant to the subject children are pursuing, they will augment the children’s formal education and ignite their curiosity in diverse fields. Indus Towers has also been doing an outstanding job of enabling connectivity to the entire nation.”
Himanshu Giri, CEO, Pratham Books said, “We are delighted to share the joy of reading at scale with children in Gujarat through this initiative. On our journey with likeminded partners such as Indus Towers, we will nurture a joy for reading in children from a young age by placing libraries in their classrooms. These reading corners are being setup because stories and reading are an important part of children’s growth and development. Reading stories helps build vocabulary, helps children make connections between stories and their own lives, and helps them understand how people dissimilar to them see different things. Children who read can think better, are able to express themselves with greater ease, and go on to become independent learners.”
Manjush Mathews, Circle CEO, Gujarat, Indus Towers Limited said,“Through its CSR initiatives, Indus believes in maximizing shared value among organizations, employees, customers, shareholders, and community members. We thank the state of Gujarat for introducing Library-in-a-Classroom, a portable library that hangs on the wall of schools and displays 100+ colourful and engaging storybooks giving physical proximity to various kinds of books. We also are delighted to partner withPratham Books for this initiativethat can potentially shape the reading habits of thousands of children.”
Indus Towers will support Pratham Books in further implementingthis initiative in Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. It has already been launched in Goa earlier this year.
