Ms Archana Sharma Awasthi and Mr Yuvraj Malik
Contd from previous issue
Working with Educators : The Next Phase
As Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya enters its next phase, the centrality of educators cannot be overstated. Teachers, librarians, and school leaders are not simply facilitators of learning-- they are culture builders. The reading habits a child forms in school often persist for life. The books a librarian recommends can change the direction of a young person's thinking
Meaningful integration of ReP into school life will require deliberate effort across several dimensions:
Revitalising library classes as active learning spaces, not supervised study halls
Encouraging guided reading and story telling sessions where teachers share their own favourite books
· Creating peer-led book discussions and reading circles that give students ownership of thehabit
·Embedding reading into the daily rhythm of school life, so that it feels as natural as morning assembly
·Improving writing skills by understanding various methods of writing.
Unlike the traditional library – fixed in its shelves and constrained by its physical dimensions – Rashtriyae-Pustakalaya is designed to be dynamic. It is a treasure of books in your hands. It also gives the readers to express what other books should be added. The available books are also about rich heritage & culture of Bharat, which the young generation should know about.
Its multilingual foundation is equally essential. A child reads best, and most naturally, in the language she thinks in. By offering books across 23 languages – and with ambitions to expand further – RePhonours India's linguistic plurality, not as a logistical challenge to be managed, but as a creative strength to be celebrated. Every language on the platform is a doorway through which a child can walk into a new world. For young children upto 8 years, the platform encourages the parents & educators to read aloud the stories.
A Collective Responsibility
Ultimately, the success of Rashtriyae-Pustakalaya will not be determined by the number of downloads or registered users, important as those signals are. It will be determined by whether reading becomes a habit once again – in homes, in schools, in the quiet corners of Bharat’s extraordinary diversity of communities. It’s when a child in a remote area has eyes twinkling when she reads a book she has only heard about.
A National Call to Read
The platform also keeps hosting activities like the current ‘Rashtriya Kavya Utsav’ and a call for citizens to contribute to storytelling. A lot more fun & engaging activities will be a continuous part of the Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya.
India has always been a civilisation of stories. From the oral traditions that preceded the written word to the great literary canons of Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi and a dozen other tongues. This land has never been short of narrative. What is at risk today is not the stories themselves, but the habit of seeking them out –the willingness to sit still, tofollow a sentence, to give a book the time it asks for.
"When Citizens read, the country leads."
-Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi
(Ms. Archana Sharma Awasthi is Additional Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India. Mr. Yuvraj Malik is Director National Book Trust India)