To make learning enjoyable and to bring awareness among children on a wide range of topics, The Hindu’s Newspaper in Education (NIE) programme was launched in schools seven years ago. Since then, the programme has gained immense popularity among schools.
While the classes are conducted in an interactive way, newspaper is used as a tool for training the students in communication skills, logical skills, mathematical skills, intra-personality and inter-personality development skills.
The modules of the NIE programme are designed to inculcate these skills among the students in a creative manner. Under communication skills the modules are writing skills, listening skills, speaking skills, reading skills, time machine, wonderful world of words and ‘spin a yarn’ which is a new module being opted by most of the schools. It helps the students to spin a web of stories based on their day-to-day activities that helps them to enhance their vocabulary.
Other new modules are on Cross Cultural Awareness (which portray the culture of other countries like Japan, Persia, Greece and South America), Project Designing, Emulate the Achievers( like Galileo Galilei, Salim Ali, Srinivasa Ramanujan and Walt Disney), Secrets of Success (this module aims at developing positive thinking, self-confidence, self-discipline, motivation and concentration skills), Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning, and Origami and Mathematics (Japanese culture of paper folding and learning Geometry in an easy and interesting way through it) and also Environmental Awareness and Global Warming.
While modules like communication skills and Vedic Mathematics are popular at the lower levels public speaking and behavioural skills are opted by many at the mid-level. For higher classes, modules on career counselling, enhancing academic performance where children learn time-management, stress management and learn tips for revision to ascend the ladder of success.
“The modules are very lucidly developed to bring out the latent skills in the students and also help them in their academics and develop their confidence levels,” said G.V. Anjaneyulu, principal of Bhashyam Public School, one of the schools that has taken up the NIE programme. Some of the other schools that have subscribed for NIE classes are Visakha Valley, Presidential School, Delhi Public School, Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan, Jassver School, Rama Krishna School, Bethany School, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Saraswathi Vidya Mandir, Naval Children School, Mahati Public School, Pratibha Vidyalayam, B.B.V. High School, Ambedkar Memorial School, D.A.V. Public School of NAD, Srujana High School, Akshara Concept School, St. Anns English Medium School of Butchirajipalem and Minerva School.
