In pursuit of social justice

Context: Illam Thedi Kalvi will bridge the pandemic-induced learning gap in Tamil Nadu and improve learning outcomes.

Issues associated with education system

• Pandemic-induced gap in learning among schoolchildren. 
• Lockdown accentuated the asymmetrical structure of the school system: The lockdown disempowered children from the marginalised sections as they did not have access to technology-driven pedagogical methods as the privileged did. 
• Class bias in online teaching: The expensive nature of online teaching pushed a large number of underprivileged children out of the education system. 
• Increasing cases of child labour : As parents’ loss of livelihood compelled these children to drop out of school.
• Many incentives provided by the state, including free textbooks, free uniforms, free bicycles and nutritious mid-day meals, were unavailable to children of vulnerable sections during the lockdown.
• Concern of low learning outcomes: According to the Annual Status of Educational Report (2018), Nearly 59% of Class 5 students and 89% of Class 3 students were unable to read a Class 2-level textbook in rural Tamil Nadu.
• Tamil Nadu got the lowest score among the southern States in ‘learning outcomes and quality’ in the Performance Grading Index of the Union Education Ministry.

Way forward: Illam Thedi Kalvi (Education at the Doorsteps) of Tamil Nadu government with objectives to achieve social justice.

• Programme will rope in  volunteers to improve learning outcomes: As , despite being among most literate States, learning outcomes in TN have been a cause of concern.
  • Volunteers will teach children outside school hours and away from the school premises in a comfortable and easily accessible location close to the child’s home.
  • Focus will be on creative pedagogical initiatives including activity-based learning to  ensure positive outcomes.
  • Reliance on women volunteers to ( 68,000 of the 86,000 volunteers are women) to allay fears about the safety of female students and encourage them to participate in the programme.
  • Volunteers will teach an estimated 34.05 lakh children in the 5-13 age group in 93,000 neighbourhoods for 60 to 90 minutes between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Volunteers who have completed Class 12 will impart lessons for children of Classes 1-5 and graduates will teach children from Classes 6-8.
• Programme is turning learning into a social engagement: By providing a concrete role to school management committees and community development activists.
  • Experienced teachers and civic and education department officials will be monitoring the progress of the students at the district and block levels.
• Challenge the inherent power dynamics between teachers and students: As a volunteer who has completed Class 12 becomes an instructor.
  • When young volunteers impart lessons creatively in an unconventional atmosphere, this will  give children an opportunity to develop a critical understanding of their social reality. 
  • This will enhance their self-respect and help them probe the reasons for oppression and injustice.

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