‘Odu Karnataka’ was initiated in the year 2016-17 by the Government of Karnataka in partnership with Pratham as a learning improvement program to address the needs of children in Std. IV and V in government schools. In 2016-17, three districts were chosen to pilotPratham’s teaching intervention . During 2017-18, endorsing the improvements in the standards of learning in the children as suggested by the pilot, the government extended the area of operation into 13 districts and later during 2018-19, expanded the program into 20 districts. Now, the Government has decided to scale up the program throughout the state from the ensuing academic year of 2021-22. Pratham Mysore was until schools closed due to the pandemic, was training 27,954 teachers in 22,173 schools and benefitting 5, 71,171 children.

The program follows a two-stage process. In the first stage, Cluster Resource Persons (CRPs) from the Education Department are oriented by Pratham on the “teaching-at-the-right-level” (TaRL) approach. This includes assessment, grouping of children as well as teaching-learning methods. All cluster resource persons are expected to conduct “practice classes” in schools daily for a period of 20 days. At the next stage, these cluster resource persons orient the teachers in their cluster who in turn implement the program in their schools for a period of 60 days. Three key elements of the program are:

1. Simple, periodic assessments for grouping of children as per learning level and tracking ofprogress at a classroom level
2. A strong on-site monitoring system which ensures continuous visits to schools by cluster, block and district resource persons including district officials
3. Regular review meetings to track implementation and ensure progress towards goals

Goals of the program:

• Enable children especially those who are not yet at a basic reading or arithmetic level to read basic text fluently (at least with text up to Grade II level of difficulty, if not higher) with comprehension
• Enable children to recognize numbers and perform basic operations
• Ensure that children can express themselves and write simple sentences on their own

Methodology:

Simple one on one assessmentis conducted and children are grouped according to the basic assessment. The teachers are trained to facilitate and guide children’s activities and work. For each group there are set of activities and materials appropriate for their levels. Children learn in groups and also individually and as they progress,they are moved to the next group.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

On-ground monitoring and support are very helpful to the teachers in conducting classes effectively and also to create a sense of accountability. All Pratham and Government cadre are trained on monitoring which includes how to prioritize the schools, what to observe in visits and how to support teachers This is supported and facilitated by Pratham ‘s Monitoring App and Dash Board.