Pawan Berwa, an 8-year-old from Dada village, Rajasthan, has dreams of becoming a teacher. But as a Grade 3 student last year, he was only able to read letters and solve simple addition problems.

Pawan lives with his parents, a brother and a sister. His father, Hiralal, studied till Grade 6, and his mother, Manbhar, attended school till Grade 2. Pawan’s brother, Dilkhush, is studying in Grade 9 and sister, Pooja, is a Grade 6 student.

In November 2023, a Pratham representative visited Pawan’s home and found out that his parents were unaware of the boy’s learning struggles. The Pratham team then took a two-pronged approach — involving Pawan’s parents in his learning journey and finding ways to support his studies.  

Pawan was enrolled into a learning camp conducted by Pratham for Grade 3-5 students from November to December, 2023. Children at the camp were grouped according to their learning levels rather than grades and within these groups, targeted teaching-learning activities were conducted.

Over the days, Pawan’s interest in studies grew. During the language classes, learning activities such as mind-mapping, word games etc were done at the camp. Similarly, during the Math classes, activities like number chart, tilli (sticks)-bundle game, and others were conducted.

Realising the importance of his mother’s involvement in Pawan’s studies, the Pratham team also convinced Pawan’s mother to be part of a Mothers’ Group in the community. As part of the group, she was taught various learning activities to do with her children at home. She soon began supporting Pawan with reading and basic Mathematics operations at home. She also helped him understand classification by colours, encouraged him to learn poetry, storytelling, and sentence formation, etc. Pawan started doing worksheets at home with his mother’s support.

Meanwhile, the Pratham team made multiple visits to Pawan’s home and his siblings also began supporting him in studies. With a conducive learning environment, Pawan’s confidence slowly grew and his attendance improved significantly. He also excelled in group activities and completed his daily homework.

Today, Pawan is able to read stories, do subtraction, and solve word problems. He has also been promoted to Grade 4 this year and goes to school regularly.

Pawan’s story showcases how, with the right support at home and school, one can find courage and take big leaps in learning.