CHENNAI: Private schools might have more competition to worry about with the Corporation’s Education Department announcing a bevy of schemes this year to bolster school education in the city’s CoC operated Chennai schools.
An array of features ranging from free lab coats and goggles, and free notebooks have already been functioning. However, these students will soon be seen in lines doting behind their teachers at the city’s various tourist destinations as the Education department has decided to conduct over 10 educational trips a week, for different Corporation-run schools.
In order to do so, the education department has already entered an agreement with the MTC to acquire more than 15 buses on a loan basis. “There is a GO which provides other government bodies to acquire buses on loan from the MTC and we will be using this to operate the buses on 15 routes to different destinations,” informed an official. According to officials, the students from some schools around the city are already regularly taken on an educational tour to DakshinaChitra, but since the Corporation only operates one bus currently, the number of trips is limited to one per week. A senior official of the education department informed, “This move is targeted to relieve the students of exam tension so that they can gain perspective knowledge rather than just bookish knowledge. We have planned the trips for students of 6th to 8th standard so that they can gain valuable knowledge before board exams preparations begin.”
Apart from DakshinaChitra, regular everyday trips will be conducted to Egmore Museum, Airport, Planetarium, Guindy National Park,Crocodile bank, Mahabalipuram, Gandhi mandapam, Rajaji mandapam, Periyar Science centre and a few other places. “The trips will be conducted such that the 15 new buses will operate via regular route buses every day but only our students will be using them,” an official said.
Until now, educational tours have been exclusive to private schools with many charging students anywhere from `150 to `15,000 for long distance trips. However, with the Corporation shifting its focus from academic education to extra curricular aspects, and doing it entirely for free, they will certainly give their private counterparts a run for their money.