The Illam Thedi Kalvi (ITK) scheme that provides school students with an interactive learning experience in the evening hours, has opened up new vistas of learning for students in Thayanur village in Tiruchi district.
There are about 20 ITK centres in Thayanur village in Manikandam block with over 390 student beneficiaries. A year after the ITK scheme was first introduced in October 2021 to help Class I to VIII children bridge their learning gap through classes after school hours, many children who initially struggled to write, read or do calculations, have started to cope well.
The ITK centres have been serving as an effective platform for the volunteers to ensure academic and multidimensional progress of the primary-level students. They not only teach English, Tamil, Mathematics and Science to the students, but also engage them in cultural activities and imparting training in basic gardening activities.
ITK classes help children, especially those with uneducated parents, do their homework with the aid of volunteers. Students are also trained to use Google Lens, online dictionary and Google Read Along app.
S. Sivakumar, educator and retired Principal, District Institute of Education and Training, Kancheepuram, who is the coordinator of the programme in Thayanur, notes that ITK classes are a bridge between home and school for learning.
“Students are not only struggling academically but are also grappling with lack of social interaction with peers and teachers. Students need to learn things like working together and sharing. The ITK classes help hone such interpersonal skills and nurture good relationships, and improve self-confidence,” he added.
Despite having their work cut out, ITK volunteers are equally pushing to try new ways to keep the classes engaging. The financial contributions from volunteers and parents are being utilised towards purchase of study material, providing nutritional refreshments for children and for conducting extra-curricular activities.
The volunteers and coordinators expect the State to give higher importance to the ITK scheme. “The School Education department should, by all means, sustain the ITK scheme with more effective interventions for the overall growth of the students,” Mr. Sivakumar said.
