There is a general notion about Government schools, that they are not as good as they ought to be. Student enrolment is usually low and teachers are inadequate. What ails Government schools particularly in Tamil Nadu and why is it so? Four students of Fatima College sought out to find an answer and the result is a documentary, ‘Edhu Nammudaiya Palli…’ (Which school is ours?). It won the first prize at the recently concluded Youth Science Festival conducted by the TN Science Forum (TNSF) in Chennai.
After the screening of the 15-minute documentary at the festival, it sparked an on-the-spot debate among the audience on Government vs privately-run schools. “We embarked on the project purely out of academic interest. But as we went deep into the subject it took us to another level,” says N. Naveena, one of the team members. The others are Sharadha Devi, Aparana Sripreethi and Krishnaveni, who met eminent scholars, educationists and filmmakers and discussed the issue in detail before filming. “What came out clearly was that Government schools have fallen out of favour with most parents due to lackadaisical approach of the Government,” points out Sharadha Devi.
“The destruction started when education became a platform for profitable business,” says Naveena, also a child scientist award winner of 2009-10 National Children Science Congress, Gujarat.
The documentary highlights how the quality of education in government schools suffered at the hands of some teachers and advocates common schools. “Schools should also be empowered to have jurisdictional powers and admit only those students who reside in the same locality where the school is also situated,” says Naveena.
Ironically, none of the team members have studied in Government Schools, “We too realise that we were also victims of our parents’ choice,” points out Aparna Sripreethi.
The TNSF organised three competitions in paper presentation, posters and documentary film making. Of the 125 papers submitted, the top 25, including 10 from Madurai, were selected for presentation at the festival. There were 75 documentaries entered and Madurai students walked away with the top honour.
The college Vice Principal, Fatima Mary, guided the students on how to strengthen Government schools while Balakrishnan of Madurai District Science Forum helped the students in technical aspects. “We shot the documentary with Canon 7D SLR camera. As it was first exposure for the students to filming, I helped them fix the angles and decide the best lighting for the shots,” says Balakrishnan.
