THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sometimes, all it takes is a helping hand for a person to achieve their dreams. The right guidance or support system could well do the trick for an aspirant. One such exemplary initiative – the Collector’s ‘Super 100’ – is being executed under the supervision of the Thiruvananthapuram district collector.
Active for the past two academic years, the scheme was initially aimed at the academic and professional uplift of 100 female students from the coastal and tribal communities of the district. This academic year, the ‘Super 100’, which started off with around 25 students selected from Classes 9 to 12, is set for changes.
“Henceforth, the scheme will include students from the Scheduled Caste and economically weaker sections,” Thiruvananthapuram Collector Anu Kumari told TNIE.
Implemented by the district administration and executed by the Kanal Innovations Charitable Trust, the scheme tries to support students aspiring for a career in the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
“Alongside the existing sessions, we are planning to introduce regular assessment to evaluate the students’ performance. More than scoring a definite percentage of marks, we want their fundamentals improved,” she said.
The move is expected to help trainees crack entrance exams more easily. “The activities will have an increased focus on academics than in previous years, with the involvement of both students and parents,” the district collector said.
Initiated by the then district collector Geromic George in 2023, and with its name derived from the 2019 Bollywood blockbuster Super 30, the scheme falls under the Union government’s ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ initiative. Besides classroom lessons, students are taken on ‘exposure’ visits to institutions working in the STEM fields, like ISRO. “The social backwardness of students can be solved by academic uplift,” said Anson P D Alexander, the founder of Kanal.
He said when a student gets into this scheme, it is more like their family getting adopted, for they could be the first in their circle to attain this level of exposure in the STEM fields. While attempts were made to include 50 girls each from the coastal and tribal communities in the scheme, the selection criteria, especially in the economically weaker category, is yet to be finalised. “We have multiple options regarding their selection and share in total strength, the final word on which will be formed by next month,” Anu
Kumari said. Students will have to go through a test, group discussion, and an interview. “Only Class 9 students can enter the scheme as we need them with us for four years to bring in a comprehensive change,” she said, adding that dropouts from higher classes will be compensated by providing additional sessions.
“We try to make academic and social interventions for students under this scheme,” Anson explained. ‘Super 100’ provides two types of academic support: with current curriculum and an early academic bridging to help students gain a stronger base in topics they lack clarity on. The social interventions include visits to their homes to understand their issues and guide them to the right platforms.
“Alcohol is the villain in most families. Children may need counselling or other psychometric interventions too,” Anson pointed out.Boat accidents too are a common tragedy in coastal families. There are even students suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, having lost multiple family members to the sea.
Students and their parents find the ‘Super 100’ sessions beneficial. Pozhiyoor siblings Tintu and Teena found the classes interesting. Mary J, their mother, called the opportunity “beyond her dreams”.
She said, “Now, we have a hope that our children will reach somewhere in life.” Kallar resident Pavithralekha, whose daughter Vandana is a ‘Super 100’ trainee, said the platform helped her child learn many things she couldn’t learn at school. “The classes have boosted her confidence,” she said.