‘Teach for Change’ Campaign: A Social Initiative to Improve Literacy Standards in India

In 2011, India was not only the country with the second largest population in the world but also the one with the largest illiteracy rate. The average adult literacy in India was 74.04% compared to the average global adult literacy rate of 84%. The condition of most government schools in India was pathetic in terms of quality of education, teachers, infrastructure, and basic amenities. Reportedly, 70% of the students in India studied in government schools, where the quality of education was substandard. A survey conducted in 2007 across 16,000 villages in India, found that though class enrolments were high, the learning was narrow as most of the students could hardly read, write, or perform basic arithmetic. According to the Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2012, there was a decline in education standards across the country and the basic learning levels of children in rural India had fallen. For instance in 2012, only 5 out of 10 students in Class V across rural India could solve a simple arithmetic problem...