Using Learning Camps to Improve Basic Learning Outcomes of Primary School Children

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2012 reports that less then 47% of students enrolled in class 5 can read a class 2 level text. The situation with respect to mathematics is worse with less than 25% of students in class 5 being able to solve simple questions on division. Alarmingly, this situation has been worsening across most states in India over time; the corresponding figures in 2007 were 59% and 42%.

A variety of "interventions" have been devised and tested to improve educational outcomes in India. A series of rigorous impact evaluations of Pratham’s (India's leading NGO in the sphere of education) work over the past decade have consistently found two effects: first, that volunteers make a difference in learning outcomes of children; and second, that learning gains in basic skills are greater and faster if children are taught based on their learning ability rather than by grade.

Based on previous evidence from RCTs and Pratham's accumulated field experience from across India, intensive short burst "learning camps" with a duration of 10 to 20 days have emerged as a promising strategy since late 2011. The environment of the camp is different from normal teaching - more fun and participatory. In India, the idea of a "learning camp" is a new one. The potential of a learning camp to achieve several objectives is high, as it provides a dynamic demonstration of how visibly learning can change in a short period of time. Thus the learning camp has the chance of being a "game changer" as people, parents and teachers can see in front of their eyes and in their own village that change is possible without a huge amount of resources.

The proposed project is for one school year. The aim is to test several models of learning camps on scale- to understand the optimal duration, periodicity, intensity and follow up that is needed to accelerate basic reading and arithmetic for primary school children and to sustain and build on these learning gains over time. The overall aim is to ensure that all children in Grade 3, 4 and 5 in the intervention schools are reading fluently and confidently doing basic arithmetic at the end of one school year.