School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi urged the School Education Department officials for concerted awareness creation to ensure there is no communal polarisation in schools.

“Schools must be illustrative of social equality, a core space where social equality is demonstrated and practiced. It is schools, where students will learn about social equality,” said the Minister addressing concerns over communal divisions in schools in Dharmapuri. The issue was flagged by DMK MP

He flagged the social and educational backwardness of the district as a reason, and called for intense campaigns and awareness to curb such divisions.  

Addressing the high girls drop-out rates, and learning gaps, Mr.Anbil Mahesh called upon the officials to plan doorstep campaigns to create awareness on women’s education to rid of accompanying social ills of child marriages and early marriages. He was responding to Collector K. Shanthi flagging the high dropout rates among girls in rural areas.  “In the last year, 1.88 lakh were brought back to learning through the App. But there needs to be sustained campaign at the doorstep to help girls enrolment and retention,” the Minister said.  

He urged the teachers to coordinate with the allied departments to expedite the delivery of schools notes and textbooks, cycle and other schemes by the government. “Occassionally there are complaints of delay in delivery. But, there are various departments that are incharge for various welfare schemes, such as school books come under industries department, bicycles under the Backwardclasses department. However, questions will be posed to the School Education department.  So, teachers should coordinate with the departments concerned to ensure the benefits are speedily secured to the students,” Mr.Anbil Mahesh said.

Similarly, addressing the issue of buildings of schools that were demolished for safety reasons and students studying under trees, the Minister said there were occasionally reports of schools where students were seated under a tree for a class. Funds are sought under various agencies such as Nabard and other departments to expedite construction of new buildings.  

All the schemes are tailored towards one goal, and that is “learning outcome”. The learning outcomes rested with the teachers and infrastructure is critical to that learning outcome, the Minister said. 

An inspection and a poetic interlude

Later, during an inspection at Avvayar Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Mr.Anbil Mahesh sat in briefly for a class. While listening in on a lecture by a visually challenged teacher Tamil Selvi on Poet Vairamuthu’s poem O En Samakala thozhargalae, the Minister dialed the poet himself and put him on to speak directly to the teacher.  The poet interacted with Tamil Selvi, who told him that she had listened to the audio book of the Sahitya Academy award winning Kallikaatu Ithihasam. Mr.Vairamuthu wished her the best urging her to continue her service to Tamil.