IIT-M’s informal teaching programme is changing lives of underprivileged children in Bihar and Chennai

IIT Madras

By Saumya Srivastav

In an initiative to impart informal teaching to the underprivileged children in Bihar and Chennai, the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) introduced the Teaching Reading Project (TRP) a year ago, which has been changing the lives of these young minds.

Within a year of its launching, a total count of 700 children from the underprivileged families, mostly Dalits, belonging to the remote village in Bihar and Chennai have been benefitted from informal teaching. These children, studying at Government and Corporation schools, have shown remarkable improvements and are now able to read their regional language and English text books.

The TRP is presently being implemented in Pindaruch village in North Bihar and in the schools of Moggapair, Cholambedu and Taramani, in Chennai. The three-year programme is being aided by Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd (TNPL) through a yearly monetary support of Rs. 15 lakh, under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

National Coordinator Rajesh Kumar, Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Science, IIT-M was quoted by New Indian Express as saying that after completing a year, about 30% students scored about 10/10 for reading Hindi, English and Tamil text books, and about 40% students scored above 5/10 which was satisfactory.

Further adding, he said that the idea is to reduce or completely eliminate the burden of schooling and performance and allow the children to enjoy the process.

Under this programme, there are no assignments, home works or lengthy exams. The children are graded only on the basis of a five-minute reading aloud test.

The Project Team in Chennai led by the retired professor K Elango from Department of English, Ann University and National Secretary of the English Language Teachers’ Association of India (ELTAI), has prepared an audio version of the relevant books to aid students in learning the pronunciations and delivery of words.

The teachers under the programme are chosen from within the community, keeping in mind childrens’ comfort. These volunteers are being paid Rs 100 per day for two-hour class daily.

Plan to convert these informal schools into smart schools where the children will be taught with the aid of gadgets like laptop etc. is in the offing. These school will also have library and sports facilities.

The State Governments of Puducherry and Jharkhand have also expressed interest in the TRP Model of Education, to aid underprivileged kids in their states.