Ganita Ganaka
Chitradurga
Chitradurga district has emerged as the top-performing district in Karnataka in the implementation of the “Ganita Ganaka” programme, a special initiative aimed at strengthening foundational numeracy among primary school children, said Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Dr. S. Akash.
Ganita Ganaka is an evidence-backed flagship programme of the Karnataka government, introduced from the 2024–25 academic year to improve basic numeracy skills among students of Classes 3, 4 and 5 in government schools. The programme uses a unique phone-based tutoring model, wherein government school teachers conduct weekly one-on-one tutoring calls with students. These calls are held in the presence of parents or guardians, making parental involvement a key feature of the initiative.
This year, Chitradurga achieved outstanding results by initiating teacher training as early as the first week of November and launching the programme ahead of many other districts. Across 151 clusters, teachers from 1,586 schools actively participated in and completed the first cycle of the programme. Over 9,000 students benefited, with each child receiving four structured tutoring calls over a six-week period, including orientation and assessment calls. Chitradurga is also among the few districts to successfully begin the second cycle within the same academic year.
Several inspiring instances were reported during implementation. In one case, a headmaster arranged a mobile phone for a student lacking access. Teachers also observed increased confidence among usually quiet students during phone-based tutoring sessions. In some schools, teachers went beyond requirements by introducing three-digit calculations after students mastered two-digit operations.
Parental participation, especially from mothers, increased significantly, with some parents even purchasing phones to support their children’s learning. Data analysis showed clear learning gains, with students solving two-digit division problems rising from 2% to 22%. On average, students learned 2.3 new math operations within one cycle. Dr. Akash said the collective efforts of teachers, institutions and parents have strengthened foundational learning outcomes across the district.