August 19
Shimla
Himachal Pradesh Education Minister Rohit Thakur on Wednesday launched the ‘Mere Shabd, Meri Kahani’ (My Words, My Story) reading campaign aimed at developing reading habits among children studying in government primary schools across the state.
The minister flagged off a mobile library van from the State Secretariat in Shimla, formally launching the campaign. The van will travel to different schools and encourage children to take up reading as a regular and enjoyable activity.
The campaign, being implemented by Samagra Shiksha Himachal Pradesh in collaboration with Room to Read India Trust, will continue across government primary schools till September 8. Thakur also flagged off a staff bus of Samagra Shiksha, which will be used to facilitate the daily commute of its employees.
Samagra Shiksha Director Rajesh Sharma, School Education Director Ashish Kohli and other officials and coordinators were present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Thakur said the state government had accorded priority to improving the quality of education and had taken several major decisions in this direction. He said the results of these efforts were reflected in various assessments and reports, including the PARAKH survey, PGI and ASER reports.
“Children are gradually losing their interest in reading and studies. Keeping this in mind, the government has launched this campaign under Samagra Shiksha to develop a regular reading habit among students and make learning more enjoyable,” the minister said.
Reading, reflection and creativity
Explaining the campaign, Rajesh Sharma said its objective was to encourage children to read regularly, reflect on what they read and express their creativity.
The campaign has been designed in line with the objectives of the National Reading Campaign and the spirit of the National Education Policy 2020. It seeks to promote not only reading habits but also critical thinking, self-expression, creativity and children’s engagement with stories.
Under the campaign, schools will organise a range of library-based activities. Age-appropriate books, magazines, storybooks and story cards will be displayed for children. Students will be encouraged to borrow books from libraries and share their thoughts and reading experiences during the morning assembly.
As part of the ‘My Life, My Library Card’ activity, every child will be given a personal reading passport to record the books they have read, their favourite characters, new words, emotions and overall reading experiences.
Schools will also set aside 10 minutes every day for dedicated reading, with the focus on developing reading fluency and making reading an enjoyable and sustained habit.
Children will also be encouraged to write a short story of up to 100 words inspired by the characters, events or ideas in the books they read. Selected stories will be displayed in classrooms and school libraries.
Reading corners and digital storybooks
Special ‘Reading Reflection Corners’ will also be created in classrooms, where children can share their favourite parts of books, new learnings, emotions and questions.
Under the ‘Read Aloud’ sessions, teachers will read stories, poems or articles to children and engage them through questions and discussions.
To promote reading at home, QR codes of multilingual books available on the Literacy Cloud will also be shared through WhatsApp groups, allowing children to access digital storybooks.
A nationwide Read-a-thon will be organised on September 8 from 11.30 am to 12.30 pm, during which children, teachers, parents and community members will read together. Students will subsequently share their reading experiences and participate in short writing and creative activities.
District-level programmes will also be organised at DIETs on International Literacy Day, with special events to be held in schools. Children demonstrating better reading performance will be encouraged and recognised.
The initiative is also expected to strengthen the concept of vibrant and active libraries in government schools across Himachal Pradesh.
