The U.S. Government Partners with Room to Read India to Enhance Education Outcomes

Today, the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Room to Read India, hosted a national seminar titled “Make Room for Early Learning” to celebrate progress made in fostering foundational literacy. This event marks the conclusion of the 6th edition of the India Gets Reading campaign, which has been instrumental in advancing early literacy across India. The seminar brought together key stakeholders, including government officials, educators, policymakers, and donors, to reaffirm their commitment to accelerating progress towards shared global challenges.

The India Gets Reading campaign 2024 achieved remarkable success through collaborations with state governments and like-minded organizations. Through collective efforts, the campaign as per estimates reached more than 1,35,000 schools and over 4 million children across the ten states of Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. This marks the campaign’s highest reach across all six editions, setting a new benchmark for engagement and impact.

Aaron Schubert, Deputy Mission Director (A) at USAID, underscored the critical importance of this initiative within the broader U.S.-India partnership, “The U.S.-India development collaboration over the past 70 years has been transformational, strengthening both nations and contributing to global prosperity. USAID is proud to partner with Room to Read India to shape brighter futures for millions of children. The India Gets Reading campaign exemplifies how our joint efforts are not only advancing education but also fostering inclusive economic growth by creating stronger, more equitable education systems.”

Poornima Garg, Country Director of Room to Read India, also emphasized the importance of reading culture in families and communities, "For over two decades, we've championed the power of quality learning environments as the foundation of a child's education. The right environment empowers children to connect deeply with teachers, parents, peers, and their community, enriching their learning and understanding of the world. We firmly believe that learning begins early, and that's why we've united with the state governments across ten states, to make room for early learning at a wide scale."

The seminar highlighted the importance of creating optimal learning environments that extend beyond physical spaces to include supportive interactions and emotional growth. Key features of the event included an engaging storytelling session, presentations on the India Gets Reading campaign, and a showcase of best practices from USAID’s Scaling-up Early Reading Intervention project. Two panel discussions explored critical topics: “Realizing the Continuum: Emergent Literacy to Literacy Continuum” and “Snapshot of Early Grades: A Practitioner’s Gaze.”

This event highlighted the essential role of early learning in addressing development challenges and showcased how the United States and India are driving progress through collaboration. The discussions reinforced the importance of continued partnership to advance educational outcomes and promote inclusive growth and prosperity.

About Room to Read India: Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read is creating a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality through education. We are achieving this goal by helping children in historically low-income communities develop literacy skills and a habit of reading, and by supporting girls as they build life skills to succeed in school and negotiate key life decisions. We collaborate with governments and other partner organizations to deliver positive outcomes for children at scale. Room to Read has benefited more than 45 million children and has worked in 24 countries and in more than 213,000 communities, providing additional support through remote solutions that facilitate learning beyond the classroom. In India, Room to Read is present across 10 states and so far, has benefitted more than 18 million children. To learn more, visit www.roomtoreadindia.org