Language and Learning Foundation and Tata Trusts Strengthen Foundational Learning Through Relationship-Driven Change in Shravasti

Shravasti (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 30: A quiet but powerful change is taking place in Shravasti’s classrooms. What began as a challenging start to a new education initiative has now turned into a story of trust, teamwork, and measurable impact. Language and Learning Foundation (LLF), in partnership with Tata Trusts, launched a three-year project in 2022 to improve foundational learning in the district’s primary schools. The program focuses on strengthening teaching in FLN classrooms, mentoring support, and local academic leadership.

At first, many teachers and officials were sceptical. Years of multiple schemes and programs had left them disillusioned. Attendance at early workshops was low, and participation was minimal. But instead of pushing harder, LLF’s field team took a step back, choosing to build relationships first.

Six Block Academic Coordinators (BACs) began working closely with Academic Resource Persons (ARPs) and teachers, visiting schools, conducting district meetings, and making classroom observations together. Over time, this approach transformed the atmosphere from one of resistance to one of collaboration.

A District Academic Group was formed along with the LLF district team, comprising DIET faculty, SRGs, and ARPs to plan training and conduct joint follow-ups. Teachers began to engage more deeply, ARPs adopted mentoring roles, and cluster meetings became spaces for academic exchange.

By 2025, visible improvements followed. A third-party assessment showed over 20% improvement in foundational literacy among Grade 3 students. The district administration has since requested that the initiative be expanded to all blocks.

Reflecting on this journey, Shveta Lall, Associate Director of Continuous Professional Development, Language and Learning Foundation, said, “We often measure education interventions in outcomes: improved scores, better attendance, and more effective training. But Shravasti reminded us that these outcomes rest on something deeper: trust, empathy, and shared ownership.

No strategy, however well-designed, succeeds without relationships to carry it forward. Building those relationships is not separate from the work; it is the work. The hall that once shut us out is now open. The keys are held by the very people who once resisted us. That, more than any indicator, is the true sign of change.’’

About Language and Learning Foundation

Language and Learning Foundation (LLF) is a system-focused and impact-driven organisation working at scale towards improving the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) outcomes of children in government primary schools in India.

Foundational skills such as reading with comprehension, writing independently, and doing simple subtraction are gateway skills that must be acquired and mastered for all future learning in schools. The World Bank has estimated that more than half of the children in India at a late primary age cannot read and understand grade-appropriate short sentences, also defined as learning poverty.

Similar findings have been reported by the National Achievement Survey (NAS) and the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER). At LLF, we believe that large-scale transformation in the teaching and learning process is required to address this crisis. With the focus on learning at the bottom of the pyramid, LLF works in educationally marginalized areas where children come from families with low literacy levels, deprived social groups, and where home languages are different from school languages.

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