The Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Paderu, Alluri Sitharama Raju district is going to pool a ‘Super 50’ batch comprising the bright students of Class X from the educational institutions in the Agency limits to nurture them and help them achieve good marks in the forthcoming public examinations.
It has recently conducted a screening test for 360 students by selecting the top three from each of the 120 government-run schools in the Paderu Agency limits. The question paper has been set for 70 marks with each subject carrying 10 marks. Correction of the answer scripts is under way and the first 25 rankers from the girls and the boys will be picked and separate batches will be created.
“The 50 toppers will be shifted to two schools near our headquarters. The boys and girls will be provided accommodation and food separately. They will have separate classes and also separate schedule of studies for the next four to five months. Special focus will be laid on them by the teachers,” said the Project Officer of ITDA, Paderu, V. Abhishek.
The ‘Super 50’ students will get further support, based on their performance in Class X exams, to pursue education in the areas of their interest. The top performers may be shifted to the NEET centre, which is exclusively run for the tribal students by the ITDA, Paderu, at Marikalavasa in Visakhapatnam city.
Pass percentage dips
Last year, the 10th class pass percentage of the government schools in the Paderu Agency dropped to 62 as against 70 in the previous year. Since then, the issue figured at several Zilla Parishad meetings, with the people’s representatives from various mandals of the ITDA expressing concern over the poor academic performance of the students.
The ITDA on its part has stepped up efforts to improve the pass percentage, and has been closely monitoring the performance of Class X students in all the schools in the Agency.
