Helping Children Catch Up: Pratham’s Summer Learning Camps

Even as classrooms across India have reopened, many children are still trying to catch up. After long school closures during the pandemic, a large number of students in primary grades remain behind in basic reading and arithmetic.

Pratham’s Summer Learning Camps are helping to close this gap.

These short-term, focused programmes run for five to eight weeks during school holidays in both rural and urban areas. The camps use a unique approach called CAMaL, or Combined Activities for Maximized Learning that prioritise remedial learning during school breaks. They also leverage Pratham’s  Teaching at the Right Level techniques, where instead of grouping children by grade, they are grouped by their current learning level. This way, each child receives teaching that is right for them.

 Learning is made fun and interactive. Children take part in stories, games, group activities and hands-on tasks that help build skills and boost confidence. For many, it is the first time they are learning at a level that matches what they actually know.

Each child’s progress is measured with simple assessments at the beginning and end of the camp. This helps track how much they have learned in a short period of time. In 2023, more than 3.4 million children across three states took part in the camps, supported by over 300,000 volunteers. The results were clear. Most children made real progress in just a few weeks.

A big part of what makes these camps work is the people who run them. The camps are led by trained local volunteers from the community. These young volunteers do not just help others, they also gain skills themselves. Through Pratham’s ‘Education for Education’ model, they can earn a certificate in digital readiness, helping them prepare for their own futures.

The heart of the work lies in meeting each child at their current learning level and using school holidays as a chance to help them catch up — so they can return to class feeling confident and ready to learn. Read more about this programme here.

Donate now to help more children bridge the gap and unlock their potential this summer.