“Liberate your mind by gaining a wide perspective of the neighbourhood, the country and the world. Keep reading every day for recreation and pleasure,” M. Chidambaram, Director, National Institute of Technology – Tiruchi (NIT-T) advised the student community on Wednesday.
“Reading as a means to relaxation enables one to grasp and retain concepts and knowledge in mind with ease,” Dr. Chidambaram said, launching The Hindu Newspaper In Education (NIE) sessions at the SRV Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Samayapuram.
He advocated regular reading of newspapers, observing that supplements of The Hindu including Young World, Education Plus and Metro Plus infuse critical thinking and enhances problem solving capabilities of students. It was important for students to derive positive attitude from family and society, and contribute towards the welfare of less privileged citizens, even while striving to achieve in their respective professions. Dr. Chidambaram felt that greater academic qualifications were required to scale higher heights, and called upon upon institutions to nurture the culture of group study with the larger objective of transforming the students into successful teachers. Traits of hard work and competitiveness in students determined the greatness of an institution.
In his presentation on the NIE initiative, R. Srinivasan, Regional General Manager, The Hindu, Tiruchi, said that the objective was to empower school children and improve their proficiency in reading, writing, listening, problem solving, critical thinking and public speaking.
The scientifically designed programme launched in 2004-05 seeks to expand children’s awareness on a wide range of topics; sensitise them to contemporary issues they come across in day to day life; help them develop critical thinking and make informed choices; and develop a strong reading habit. The NIE helped teachers to relate curriculum to real world situations and foster cooperative learning. It complemented the curricular learning by developing the right attitude, skills, and Knowledge.
Alongside language skills, science and mathematics, culture and heritage, group dynamics, and the wonderful world of words, the new component this year for this year’s sessions will be ‘sustained silent reading’, Mr. Srinivasan said.
The School Principal K. Thulasithasan, the Regional General Manager – Advertisement, T. Subramanian, Coordinator of The Hindu NIE Radhika Vijay, and the team of NIE resource persons took part.