India

Room to Read launched operations in India in 2003. We now have a presence in 12 states across the country — Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. We collaborate hand-in-hand with national, state and district government partners to holistically transform the education system and improve educational outcomes for children at scale.

Since 2003, Room to Read has benefited more than 14,000,000 children throughout India.

Ensuring children gain foundational literacy skills

Without access to quality education, children living in the most vulnerable regions throughout India continue to experience a high risk of dropping out of school, threatening their quality of life, health and future economic opportunities. While literacy is a path out of the cycle of poverty, a startling 266 million people in India cannot read, of which a disproportionate number are women and girls. Though primary school enrollment rates have increased over the last few decades, many schools across the country continue to struggle to ensure children are effectively learning foundational literacy skills and have access to high-quality books and libraries.

Equipping adolescent girls with key life skills

While India has made significant gains in primary school enrollment rates for all children over the past few decades, improving secondary school completion rates for girls remains challenging. Despite policy measures to promote girls’ education, around 39 percent of adolescent girls, ages 15−18 are currently not in school, and around two-thirds of girls from that age group are engaged in household activities or child labor to contribute to their family’s income and stability. As every third child bride in the world is a girl from India, early marriage is another significant contributing factor to girls’ low educational outcomes. For adolescent girls, life skills — such as perseverance, self-confidence and decision-making — are essential in equipping girls to navigate social and economic pressures, advocate for themselves to stay in school and make informed decisions about their futures.