Chennai: ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ or 'Education at Doorsteps' scheme will be extended for six more months, said Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Tuesday.
'Illam Thedi Kalvi' was first started by DMK government under Chief Minister MK Stalin with an aim to bridge the learning gap caused due to the closure of schools due to the pandemic. As per the scheme, the government also recruited volunteers to take classes for children for two hours a day.
The government implemented the scheme since studies found that the benefits of in-person classes could not be matched by online classes and the objective of the scheme was to impart education to children at home.
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Poyyamozhi, in a statement, said that the scheme will continue till normalcy returns in the functioning of schools. The Minister said that as the schools have resumed the normal academics only now, normalcy has not returned and that the scheme has to continue.
The Minister also said that 9,494 teachers would be recruited to the government schools in the ongoing year. This is to increase the enrolment of students in government schools of the state.
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He also said that the students' mobile phones, if found being used in schools, will be confiscated and would not be returned.
Meanwhile, the classes for government school students studying in standard 1-10 started on Monday after the summer vacation. The schools started in Tamil Nadu by following COVID-19 SOPs issued by the government to curb the spread of infection.
(With IANS inputs)