When a city school handed out bookstore vouchers to prize-winning students from Classes I to V, the idea was simple: let children choose the books they want, instead of receiving titles selected for them.

But weeks later, the school received unexpected feedback from the bookstore — many students had not redeemed their vouchers at all.

“We gave them book vouchers so they could browse and select books of their choice. But I got feedback from the store owner and realised a section of students had
not redeemed the vouchers,” said Nupur Ghosh, vice-principal, Mahadevi Birla World Academy.

There was a vacation in between for the children to go, buy and read, and so time was not a constraint. But a portion of the students never showed up.

The school eventually had to issue reminders.

A declining appetite

Across several Calcutta schools, teachers said the habit of reading for pleasure is vanishing. Students rarely pick up storybooks from libraries or bookstores, and that change is visible in multiple ways — from classroom conversations to book sales during parent-teacher meetings.

A school head noted that even during on-campus book fairs, students increasingly opt for academic titles over fiction or general reading. Book sales during open houses are significantly low, the principal said. “That was not the case even a few years ago.”

Ano-ther school principal, who did not wish to be named, said he was against the sale of academic books during annual book sales. But publishers insisted on including textbooks and practice books. “They told us to allow them to sell books on maths, comprehension, and other subjects. Unless they do so, it is not profitable for them to set up a stall,” he explained.

Teachers said the excitement once associated with getting a new book, the smell of crisp pages, the visual thrill of a fresh cover, is fading fast.

Revival bid

Many schools run initiatives to encourage reading, but responses are lukewarm.

At BD Memorial Junior School, children were asked to read a storybook with their parents and then write about it. But the reflections suggested that many had only skimmed the pages.

“Child-ren learn by imitation,” said director Suman Sood. “If parents do not read, it is expected that children, too, will not.”

Across campuses, teachers reported that references to books, characters, or stories have nearly disappeared from students’ writing conversations.

Textbooks only

For years, teachers have stressed the importance of reading and memorising textbooks thoroughly. The unintended side effect, educators said, is that many students read nothing beyond the curriculum.

The academic cost is clear. At St James’ School, English teacher and senior school coordinator Joseph Chacko sees shrinking vocabularies and limited sentence formation skills among students. “The choice of words while they are writing or speaking is also limited. To express a state of mind, they might use the word ‘sad’ but not ‘downcast,’ ‘distraught,’ or ‘melancholic,’ depending on the context,” he said.

AI shortcut

The rise of AI tools has compounded the issue.

“With technology and ChatGPT, they do not need to express themselves — the language is available to them at the command of a key,” Chacko explained. “ChatGPT allows them to get away with no reading because their language gets automatically enhanced as it is heavily borrowed from AI.”

From projects that once required thought to even thank-you notes, all of it can now be generated instantly. What began as digital assistance has turned into ready-made answers.

Despite the trends, educators said they are committed to nurturing reading habits. “We cannot give up on them,” said Ghosh of Mahadevi Birla World Academy.