Chitradurga district is leading Karnataka in the Ganitha Ganaka program, a state government effort to improve basic math skills in primary school children. This remote tutoring program involves weekly one-to-one phone calls between teachers and students from Grades 3, 4, and 5. Parents take part in these calls, supporting their children’s learning. In Chitradurga, more than 2,400 trained teachers from 1,586 schools across 151 clusters took part in the first six-week cycle. They conducted four structured tutoring calls per student, reaching about 9,000 children. The district also started the second cycle ahead of all others this academic year. Teachers noticed some quiet children opening up during calls. Some students advanced to three-digit math operations, exceeding program requirements. Headmaster Ranganath H. from GLPS Chigatanahalli even arranged a phone for a student without one, while some parents bought phones to help their kids. Parental involvement, especially by mothers, has increased significantly. Teachers are working beyond school hours to support students. “All parents have appreciated the dedication of teachers and educational institutions in Chitradurga for their collective efforts in strengthening foundational learning outcomes through Ganitha Ganaka,” said S. Akash, CEO of Chitradurga Zilla Panchayat. Data shows great progress: students solving two-digit division jumped from 2% to 22%, with an average of 2.3 new math skills mastered per student in six weeks. The Government College of Teacher Education helped implement the program, with 86 B.Ed. students tutoring over 300 children. Nearly 45% of these students understood division-level math. This year, B.Ed. students will support 300 more children.