Enriching of science material in schools has been taken up as a priority area by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in Tamil Nadu.
The Government of India's flagship education programme will give thrust to strengthen the science teaching and learning by enriching the science subject materials in upper primary classes, according to R. Venkatesan, SSA State Project Director.
Speaking to The Hindu in Madurai on Thursday, he said that cards prepared for English and science subjects under the Activity Based Learning and Active Learning Methodology in schools are being changed every year as a part of the enrichment exercise.
“In Tamil Nadu, we have been successful in terms of access to education. The next focus area is quality and hence the SSA team in our State is giving importance to have quality study materials and teaching methodologies in primary/upper primary school network,” he said.
Mr. Venkatesan was here to participate in the “Third Workshop cum review meeting of urban planning for the Million Plus Cities in the country,” organised by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.
He said that the material for science and English subjects are being improved regularly by taking the teachers' suggestions and feedback. For the upper primary classes, the science material is brought out in CD format also.
“In enrolment of students to schools, Tamil Nadu is close to 100 per cent. The next step will be on quality and that was what the Central Government also is expecting from States,” the State Project Director said and added that the school dropout rate is very negligible in Tamil Nadu.
Encouraging English
Though the medium of instruction is Tamil in schools where the SSA is involved, all efforts are being taken to develop English knowledge among students and teachers as well, Mr. Venkatesan pointed out.
With the help of training from British Council experts, school teachers were trained in English teaching and effective communication.
Model to other States
He said that SSA officials from other States including Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Karnataka have visited Tamil Nadu to study the way it was implemented and emulate the same in their respective States with slight modifications.
