As RightToRead continues to expand its outreach in Maharashtra, it is time to look back and see the many roads travelled to reach where the initiative stands today.

The RightToRead journey began in Maharashtra in 2014-15 with 125 schools in 3 districts. 

In 2018, the Government of Maharashtra, Schoolnet and EnglishHelper signed an MoU to implement the RightToRead program in 65,000 government schools in the state. Across the education system in India, this technology-enabled method of reading for enhancing English literacy is a unique example of the new blend of technology and education. 

The development and expansion of the program in Maharashtra provide some interesting insights:

Scalability: The program has demonstrated the ability to scale. Today, as the program expands its footprint across the state, over 15,000 teachers have been trained in nearly 13,700 schools in 36 districts of Maharashtra. The program is positively influencing the lives of over 3.7 million government school students in the state.

Easy-To-Use Technology: The program leverages existing textbooks and is integrated with the school timetable. The software is easy to implement and use in class.

Adaptability: In Maharashtra, communication strategies were adapted as per the needs of the program.  EnglishHelper and Schoolnet adopted video technology (remotely) to train and communicate with the Block Resource Coordinators (BRC). 

Involving Local Resource Persons: BRCs were trained to enable them to further train the teachers in government schools. Thousands of teachers have downloaded the software and are using it in their classrooms.

Crucial Partnerships: The involvement of the local government agencies is one of the many firsts in the state. Recent interactions with the Zilla Parishad body in Osmanabad are proof of the power of the public-private partnerships. The multiple strategic partnerships have ensured the execution and expansion of the program. 

And last but not the least, the response of the teachers and students has been the most encouraging. Feedback from teachers and students reflect a high engagement with the RightToRead program. 

Schools are benefitting from this blend of technology and education. Schools are using the software regularly. Students and teachers enjoy using the software. We come across encouraging stories of teachers making a difference in their classrooms. Laxmikant Salve, a government school teacher in Beed, Maharashtra, is making a difference to the lives of many students by introducing them to RightToRead. 

RightToRead Maharashtra is an abundance of motivating stories of the transformation of the education system. Abdul Salim of Sane Guruji Vidyalaya, Nagpur, is a teacher willing to adopt technology-enabled methods to improve the learning ability of students.

It is estimated that more than 10 million (one crore) students in Maharashtra will be covered by the RightToRead initiative. Maharashtra is pioneering the demonstration of successful deployment of education technology in India! 

Check classroom videos of Maharashtra, here and here!

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