Students, their parents, and educators around the world are feeling the extraordinary ripple effect of the novel coronavirus as schools are shutting down and quarantine methods are being ordered to cope with the global pandemic. While governments and health officials are doing their best slowing down the outbreak, global education systems are collaborating to collectively respond and provide quality education for all during these difficult times.
HundrED and fREADom Lab have joined forces to provide remote learning opportunities to 500,000 children in India using Stones2Milestones’ network of over 1500+ schools across the country. The selected solutions come from the recent HundrED Spotlight on Quality Education For All During COVID-19 Crisis as well as local solutions identified by the team at fREADom Lab.
Project fREADom Lab, is an initiative formally launched by Stones2Milestones on 24th January, International day of education to eradicate learning poverty and curb the learning crisis which affects more than 9 in 10 children in developing countries. Borne out of a decade of original research in early childhood reading by thought leaders from Harvard University, IIM, Stanford University, IIT and the London School of Economics, it strives to make learning to read a conscious design of the curriculum and involve educators and parents as equal stakeholders in a child’s academic success. The project is supported via partners from Stanford University on research, Penguin Random House & Harper Collins including others on the content and leading thought leaders from India and abroad.
Nikhil Saraf, Co-Founder, Stones2Milestones, shares,
HundrED & fREADom Lab have been working on the same mission to improve education outcomes, this collaboration is to join forces to tackle one of the largest problems in early childhood education globally. Given the current times and the need for remote learning, the partnership will potentially help HundrED reach out to 1500+ schools and 500,000 students at large, and in turn give school leaders & decision makers access to tools that are relevant, researched and work remotely. At the same time, allowing teachers to send in their innovations to HundrED, giving them a platform to showcase.
HundrED’s goal is to improve education through impactful innovations. Through this urgent spotlight, HundrED aims to provide simple, yet effective solutions that help parents, teachers and children navigate through the plethora of challenges facing education during the pandemic. With fREADom Lab, HundrED’s selected innovations in technology-enabled learning will be recommended to Indian school leaders, parents, and teachers from fREADom Lab network impacting nearly 500,000 children in India.
“The pandemic situation is affecting the lives of many students, families & communities. Our job is to help everyone in providing quality education for all even in these exceptional times. This partnership with fREADom Lab provides a unique opportunity to support young learners & their families as we maneuver and manage our learning journeys, together.”, shared Pukhraj Ranjan, Head of Community & Media at HundrED.
Through this pilot, HundrED and fREADom Lab hope to help support thousands of children and families in need of remote learning and online learning resources.
For more information on Project fREADom Lab, click here. For more articles, innovative solutions & resources, head to our Coronavirus Toolkit especially designed to support educators & parents during this COVID-19 outbreak.
