Locations

The initial trial began in February 2019, when Ladakh was still part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In October 2019, Ladakh was declared a Union Territory, and the project came to a halt due to changes in education policy.

In 2022, the project was revived after the DIET approached us to restart the initiative. Since then, all government school teachers in Leh District have been trained in Jolly Phonics for Pupil 1. In August 2026, training for Pupil 2 will commence. Following the completion of the Leh District programme, the training initiative will be extended to Kargil District.

To date, we have successfully completed the roll-out of Pupil Book 1 in 296 schools, trained over 1,500 teachers, and supported more than 4,000 students on their literacy journey. While these numbers may appear modest when viewed in isolation, the impact has been truly significant.

Our work extends far beyond statistics. We are reaching children and teachers in remote and often economically challenged villages, where access to quality educational resources and professional development opportunities is limited. By equipping teachers with effective literacy teaching strategies and providing students with a strong foundation in reading and writing, we are helping to transform classrooms and create lasting educational change. Each trained teacher has the potential to influence hundreds of learners over the course of their career, making the ripple effect of this initiative far greater than the numbers alone suggest.

This work was carried out in association with the Sunbird Trust in the conflict-affected region of Manipur. My first training here took place in 2019, and I had the privilege of returning again in 2025.

What makes this initiative especially meaningful is the resilience of the teachers, who continue their work in areas where conflict often disrupts access to even the most basic education and quality learning resources. Their commitment to ensuring that children receive literacy support despite such challenging circumstances is deeply inspiring.

My most recent visit underscored the realities of working in these regions. To reach the guesthouse safely, I was escorted by an army tank, as the area was inaccessible to outsiders due to ongoing tensions. Experiences like these highlights not only the challenges on the ground but also the importance of bringing educational opportunities to communities that need them the most.

The journey with the Tibetan Children’s Schools began in November 2018. In these schools, students start learning English only from Grade 4, making early literacy support especially significant. Over the course of five years, a series of charitable workshops were conducted to equip teachers with the skills and knowledge to implement both Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar effectively.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the support continued through online sessions, ensuring that teachers were guided closely in their efforts to impart literacy to their students despite the challenges of remote learning.

The success achieved in the TCV Schools led to similar training being extended to the Sambhota Tibetan Schools across India, further broadening the reach and impact of the programme.

A particularly humbling milestone in this journey came in 2023, when I had the honour and privilege of meeting HH the 14th Dalai Lama in McLeod Ganj. He expressed his gratitude for the work being carried out in the Tibetan schools, a moment I will always cherish.

This was one of our earliest pilot projects in government schools, conducted in the remote district of the West Khasi Hills. The three-day training sessions were held across three different locations. Unfortunately, the project could not be sustained further due to a lack of continued support from the partnering NGO and the state government.

The pilot projects in Dimapur and Kohima began in 2015. It was only after Chris’s visit to Kohima, in January 2018, that the Directorate of School Education granted approval for the programme rollouts across the state.

Training for Pupil 1 was successfully completed in February 2020 for teachers across all districts of Nagaland. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges and interruptions to the continuity of the project.

We are currently awaiting the allocation of funds from the Directorate of School Education (DSE) for the Pupil 1 refresher training. Once this phase is completed, the follow-up training for Pupil 2 will be carried out to ensure the sustained implementation and progression of the programme.