COIMBATORE: The importance of English in India cannot be overlooked. Someone who is proficient in the language has an ace up the sleeve. The fact that it also serves to connect people from various States speaking different languages cements its irreplaceable nature.
Funded by volunteers and NGOs, Dr Ambedkar Education and Employment Coaching Centre has been conducting free grammar classes in the English language twice a week to underprivileged students belonging to Kamarajapuram, Sengathurai and Veerakeralam since 2018. Majority of people living in the three areas are Dalits.
The centre has conducted nearly 100 free sessions at Kamarajapuram and 30 each in Sengathurai and Veerakeralam. That the students undergo activity-based learning so as to understand the subject better makes it unique. Around 80 students in the 11- 18 age group are currently attending classes between 6 pm and 8 pm twice a week.
The teaching faculty comprise a former Air Force officer, an MBA graduate and an English literature student. “Apart from teaching students where to use ‘a’ and ‘an,’ we teach them vowels and consonants,” said K Ganesh, coordinator of the centre.