The district has bagged the distinction of becoming the first in the State, and probably one of the few in the country, to establish libraries in all classrooms in public schools.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday made the formal declaration to mark the successful completion of the Sargavayana Sampoorna Vayana project that was undertaken by the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat.
Eight lakh books
The civic body amassed eight lakh books that were distributed among 10,681 classrooms in 988 government and aided schools in the district.
Big thrust
Lauding the achievement, the Chief Minister said the initiative had provided a great thrust for the General Education Protection Mission that aimed to transform schools across the State.
He said several public schools matched up to global standards with the setting up of computer laboratories and classroom libraries.
Stressing on the importance of inculcating the habit of reading among youngsters, Mr. Vijayan said many classrooms were equipped to facilitate reading through books as well as online resources. He added that books were a great equaliser that enabled people from various backgrounds to gain knowledge and remain in tune with the changing times.
In his presidential address, Education Minister C. Ravindranath said all classrooms of public schools across the State would be equipped with libraries by the next academic year. Besides, all classes from 1 to 12 would also go high-tech, thereby enabling the State to become the first one to digitalise its general education sector.
With improved connectivity and easy access to a wide array of resources, classrooms were no longer confined within four walls, he added.
District panchayat president V.K. Madhu said t he newly established classroom libraries were set to receive a further boost with the District Library Council agreeing to lend sets of books through its wide network of libraries for fixed periods.
Collecting books
The Chief Minister gave away prizes to Government Lower Primary School, Pacha, Palode; Government Upper Primary School, Ambalathara; and St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School, Pattom; for managing to collect the highest number of books in the lower primary, the upper primary, and the high school and higher secondary school categories respectively.
Thiruvananthapuram Mayor K. Sreekumar, district panchayat standing committee chairpersons B.P. Murali, V. Renjith, S.K. Preeja, C.S. Geetha Rajasekharan and Library Council secretary P.K. Rajmohan also spoke on the occasion.
