2,900 volunteers roped in for education scheme in Coimbatore

A total of 2,900 volunteers have been roped in for the Illam Thedi Kalvi (Education at doorstep) scheme for Coimbatore district so far, according to the Department of School Education.

Sources in the department said that the targeted number of volunteers for covering all 15 educational blocks in the district was 8,433 volunteers. Efforts to recruit additional volunteers to meet the requirement are under way.

As per the data available, the 2,900 volunteers comprise 1,686 primary volunteers and 1,214 upper primary volunteers. Sulur block has the maximum number of total volunteers (322) while Valparai block has the least number of volunteers (102). There are no ‘zero volunteer blocks’ in Coimbatore district, the sources said.

The School Education Department recently organised awareness events at Annur, Karamadai and Thondamuthur blocks to rope in more volunteers for the scheme, according to the sources.

Illam Thedi Kalvi was launched by the State government last year to address the learning gap among students of Classes I to VIII in government schools following the closure of schools for nearly 19 months during the COVID-19 lockdown. The scheme involves volunteers visiting the houses of around 1.64 lakh students in 2,089 habitations across the district between 5 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. to take classes.