The USAID-funded Pakistan Reading Project (PRP), implemented by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and its partners (Creative Associates International, World Learning, and Institute of Rural Management), is a five-year project with the objective to support the provincial and regional departments of education (DoE) throughout Pakistan to improve reading skills of children in grades one and two. The project will achieve this goal through three distinct but interrelated components that will work in synergy to affect the quality of early grade education: improved classroom learning environment for reading, improved policies and systems for reading, and community based support for reading in Pakistan.

The project is improving the quality of teaching and assessment of reading by supporting improvements to teachers’ pre-service education, providing a model for continuous professional development for in-service teachers, and making supplemental instructional materials more widely available to primary school teachers.  The project’s strategy entails supporting efforts of the Government of Pakistan in each province and region to achieve these goals. To ensure sustainable improvement in the quality of reading instruction in Pakistan, the project is focusing on building the capacity of provincial and district government stakeholders.

Working closely with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and teacher education apex institutions, the project is developing the reading curricula for the two-year Associate Degree in Education (ADE) and four-year Bachelor’s Degree in Education (B.Ed.) Honors programs and supporting these programs in 111 teacher training institutes across Pakistan. To attract and assist qualified students enroll in these degree programs, the project is awarding over 3,649 USAID merit-based scholarships.

The Pakistan Reading Project is promoting the adaptation and implementation of policies that promote quality teaching and will ensure the sustainability of its initiatives over time through permanent policy changes.

The intervention will be improved reading instruction and assessment of 23,800 teachers in 23,800 public schools. Towards the end of the project, we anticipate to reach at least 1,300,000 grade 1 and 2 students across 7 provinces of Pakistan.

Project Objectives

• Improve classroom learning environment for reading
• Improve policies and systems for reading
• Community – Based Support for Reading

Anticipated Results

• 1.3 million grade 1 and 2 students receiving reading interventions.
• Improved reading policies and systems for reading.
• 23,800 teachers in 23,800 public schools with improved skills in teaching reading and conducting classroom assessments.
• 111 teacher training institutions (colleges and universities) offering ADE and B.Ed. (Hons.) degree programs.
• Development of reading curriculum for ADE and B.Ed. (Hons.) program.
• 3,649 scholarships for ADE and B.Ed. (Hons.) students.
• 1.7 million workbooks provided for school children.
• Establishment and strengthening of 23,800 classroom based corner libraries.
• Provision of 23,800 tablet computers to teachers.
• Mobile bus libraries reaching out to 300 communities.
• Small grants awarded to local NGOs and CBOs to support community based reading initiatives.