DEAR Reading Initiative
Every day at 2:10 pm, every person in Axel Public School stops and reads — students, teachers, office staff and the Principal. No exceptions. Drop Everything And Read has run every school day since 2014. It is the school's single most consistent investment in the minds of its students.
Daily 20-minute reading · Library with 8,000+ titles · All classes KG–XII
protected reading
across all genres
introduced at Axel
student suggestions
What is DEAR?
Drop Everything And Read
DEAR — Drop Everything And Read — is a daily 20-minute protected reading window built into the school timetable for all classes from KG to Class XII. Every person in the building reads during this time: students, teachers, administrative staff and the Principal. No devices, no worksheets, no interruptions. Just reading.
The session runs every day from 2:10 to 2:30 pm. It was introduced at Axel in 2014 and has never been cancelled for an exam, a sports day or an assembly. The school's position is simple: reading daily is not a luxury — it is the foundation of every other form of learning.
What students read
Students may bring any book of their choosing — fiction, non-fiction, poetry, graphic novels, newspapers, magazines — in any language. The only rule is that screens do not count. The library provides a recommended reading list by class level, but it is a recommendation, not a requirement. A student reading a cricket annual is as welcome as one reading a classic novel.
The Axel Library
Over 8,000 titles, fully catalogued, open from 8 am to 6 pm on school days.
Collection
Over 8,000 curated titles across fiction, science, history, mathematics, biography, reference and regional literature. The collection includes Assamese and Bengali literature, titles about Northeast India's ecology and culture, and an international section built through alumni donations. The library is fully catalogued and searchable via the school's intranet.
Digital resources
Every student has a cloud account giving access to a digital resource library including academic journals, encyclopaedias, CBSE reference materials, exam papers going back ten years and a curated selection of e-books. High-speed internet is available at all library workstations. The library is open from 8 am to 6 pm on school days and 9 am to 1 pm on Saturdays.
Reading mentors
Class IX to XII volunteers act as Reading Mentors for younger students during the DEAR window, sitting with Class I–IV students and helping with comprehension, fluency and just the joy of books. Mentors receive a letter of recognition for their college applications. This is consistently the most requested community service role in the school.
Reading challenges & clubs
Annual Reading Challenge
Every class takes on an annual reading challenge — a set number of books in the academic year, tracked through a shared class log. Classes celebrate hitting targets with a class choice of activity. In 2025, Class VIII read 28 books across the class (covering all genres) against a target of 20. The challenge is about breadth, not speed.
Book Discussion Groups
Fortnightly book discussions organised by reading group (Classes V–VII, VIII–X, XI–XII). Students choose the books — the school does not impose a reading list beyond recommendations. Discussions are student-led with a faculty facilitator present but not directing. Alumni occasionally join discussions by video call.
Summer Reading Programme
Every June, the library publishes a summer reading guide with suggestions by age group — three recommended titles per level, one classic, one contemporary and one from Assam or Northeast India. Students who complete the list receive a library recognition certificate at the start of the new term. Approximately 60% of students participate each year.
Author Visits
Axel invites two or three authors to campus each year — both Indian and Northeast Indian writers. Authors read from their work, answer student questions and often spend the afternoon in the library for informal conversations. Past visitors have included Assamese writers, a Booker-longlisted novelist and a science communicator. Visits are open to the whole school.
Assamese & Regional Literature
The library's regional collection covers literature in Assamese, Bodo, Mising, Karbi and Bengali. One DEAR session per month is designated for reading in a student's home language. The school believes bilingual and multilingual reading is a cognitive advantage, and that literature from one's own culture is a source of identity and rootedness.
Library prefects
Each class from VI to XII has a Library Prefect — a student elected by their classmates to manage the class reading log, facilitate book exchanges and liaise with the librarian. Library prefects receive training at the start of each year and can propose new books for purchase. More than 80 titles suggested by library prefects have been added to the collection since 2020.
The best readers become the best thinkers.
Twenty minutes a day, every day, for every student. It sounds small. Over twelve years of schooling, it adds up to over 900 hours of reading. That is the Axel DEAR programme.