Virudhunagar district is at it again. After a break of one year, it has renewed its 28-year-long tryst with the top slot in State ranking list for higher secondary examinations.
With 97.46 per cent pass this year, it has regained the top position and has surpassed its 2014 record by 1.36 per cent.
Bouncing back after a year of low performance has been a Herculean task for students, teachers, parents and officials of the Department of School Education. “But we achieved it with team work, synergy and involvement of civil society,” said V. Jeyakumar, Chief Educational Officer.
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The district slumped to the third spot, with Erode bagging the top rank in 2014. This year, the slots have been swapped.
The Department of School Education worked out a strategy earlier in the year to improve performance in Plus Two.
“We analysed the reasons for low performance and worked out solutions for each of them. Our teachers worked 24x7, without taking off even on Sundays and festival days,” said Mr. Jeyakumar.
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Virudhunagar district is a paradox. While it boasts of top class schools, it was also once infamous for child labour. Social tension, caused by caste skirmishes, added to the burden of teachers. Students used to come to school with their caste identities, wearing wrist bands with a particular colour, said a teacher.
On the other hand, many parents were reluctant to see their children leave the schools with flying colours as the young ones were able to earn around Rs. 300 a day by rolling dummies for firecrackers. The money they earned made them lose interest in studies and introduced them to evil habits, said K. Narayanan, a professional counsellor, who motivated the children to regain interest in studies.
Collector V. Rajaraman congratulated the teachers, parents and officials of the Department of School Education for the achievement. “Regaining the lost position was tough. Staying at the top is going to be tougher,” said Mr. Jeyakumar.