To fill the gaps in learning among students of Classes I to VIII owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, the School Education Department on Monday launched ‘lllam Thedi Kalvi’.
A web portal (https://illamthedikalvi.tnschools.gov.in) for the enrolment of volunteers for the initiative was launched by School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi.
He appealed to volunteers to come forward and register themselves.
Under the initiative, volunteers will engage with students one hour every evening in spaces that will be identified and opened in the community. “While registration is open to volunteers from across the State, the initiative will first begin in 12 districts. We expect to learn a lot from the pilot project and implement the feedback. Students of government as well as private schools can attend these classes, which will be activity-based and will give them an opportunity to enjoy and learn. These classes will be structured around their syllabus,” Mr. Mahesh Poyyamozhi said.
The pilot will be implemented in Cuddalore, Dindigul, Erode, Kancheepuram, Kanniyakumari, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Nagapattinam, the Nilgiris, Thanjavur, Tiruchi and Villupuram.
The Minister said the volunteer-student ratio would be 1:20 and over one lakh volunteers were expected to join the initiative. “Persons who have studied up to Class XII can teach students of Classes I to V and degree-holders can teach middle school students. We hope parents, especially, are forthcoming and register themselves as volunteers, apart from members of local NGOs,” he said. Around six hours of classes will be held through the week for every cohort of students.
Monitoring committees
He said a State-level committee would oversee the implementation of the initiative. District-level and block-level committees would also be formed, and the school management committees would be roped in. “The school management committees will vet the volunteers and send their names to the district-level committees for approval.”
R. Sudhan, Project Director, Samagra Shiksha, said cycle rallies, cultural performances by folk artistes, puppet shows and storytelling would be organised across villages to explain to the residents how they could register themselves as volunteers and how the initiative would benefit children. “Through this people-driven initiative, we aim to address learning gaps among children over the next six months.” With schools set to reopen for Classes I to VIII from November 1, the School Education Department will run this initiative in parallel with the in-person learning at schools.
A handbook on the initiative was released and vehicles for awareness activities flagged off by the Minister.
