Rohtak launches 15-minute reading challenge in government primary schools
Students will be encouraged to read storybooks, children’s literature, biographies, newspapers and other age-appropriate reading material
After Project Vishwas, the district administration has launched another initiative named ‘the daily 15-minute reading challenge’ in all government primary schools to bridge the learning gap among students. Under the initiative, every child will devote 15 minutes daily after the Zero Period to reading books of their choice under the guidance and supervision of teachers.
Students will be encouraged to read storybooks, children’s literature, biographies, newspapers and other age-appropriate reading material available through classroom reading corners and school resources. Teachers will create a library-like environment in classrooms, encourage joyful reading and assist students in understanding unfamiliar words and concepts whenever required.
“The initiative is expected to significantly improve reading fluency, vocabulary, language proficiency, comprehension and critical thinking while cultivating a lifelong habit of reading. The programme has been designed in line with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the NIPUN Bharat Mission, which place foundational literacy at the centre of school education reforms,” said Sachin Gupta, Deputy Commissioner.
He maintained that the objective of education is not merely to improve examination results but to build readers, thinkers, communicators and responsible citizens capable of succeeding in an ever-changing world.
“Our vision is to ensure that every child in Rohtak not only learns to read but reads with understanding, thinks independently, communicates confidently and develops the skills required to succeed in life. Every innovation introduced by the district administration is aimed at making our government schools centres of excellence,” the DC added.
During the review meeting, officials presented the findings of the district-wide Competency Review Programme (CRP) and the Digital Skill Passbook, through which every student’s learning competencies are being digitally assessed and tracked.
Sharing the progress of Competency Review Programme (CRP) and Digital Skill Passbook, through which every student’s learning competencies are being digitally assessed and tracked, Gupta said students of classes 1 to 3 have recorded encouraging improvement under the NIPUN Haryana Mission in phonemic awareness, cognitive development, oral expression, letter recognition, classification skills, reading fluency, sentence reading, number recognition and basic mathematical operations.
“The assessment revealed that while students have shown encouraging progress in foundational literacy and numeracy, a significant number continue to face difficulty in reading unseen passages, comprehending their meaning and answering questions based on the text,” he added.
Reviewing the implementation of the PM POSHAN Scheme, the DC has also instructed officers to conduct regular inspections of Mid-Day Meals, ensure hygiene and nutritional quality and strengthen monitoring at every level. He also emphasised greater use of educational field visits and experiential learning opportunities to enrich classroom teaching.
