CHENNAI: The School Education Department has scaled up its Vasippu Iyakkam (reading movement) initiative to cover all government schools in the state. Under this, every classroom has been stocked with a collection of over 120 Tamil books tailored to different reading levels for instilling the habit of reading among students. So far, 1.3 crore books have been distributed across the state.
To further enhance language skills of students, the department plans to translate these books into English.
Last year, the initiative was implemented in government schools in 11 blocks of 11 districts on a pilot basis. The department initially developed 53 books, designed for four distinct reading levels - Nulai (Enter), Nada (Walk), Oodu (Run), and Para (Fly).
The books at the beginner level (Nulai) contain pictures and a single line of text, while those at the Nada level feature illustrations alongside a paragraph of text. Each book is kept concise with only 16 pages, making it easier for children to complete them. This year, 77 new books have been added to the collection. The department plans to bring out 250 books under the scheme.
“While books are provided to every class, special focus is given to students from Class 4 to 9. Teachers are instructed to utilise the library period each week to ensure that students read these books. Once students finish the books provided, they are encouraged to borrow more from the school library,” said an official who is part of the initiative.
Resource persons including Illam Thedi Kalvi and volunteers were engaged to run the scheme last year, but this year the department has been providing training to teachers. A comprehensive video guide and a handbook have been issued to help teachers.
“In schools where the scheme was piloted last year, many students have already made reading a daily habit. We also encouraged students and teachers to write their own stories and received 1,300 submissions. Eight of the new books created this year feature these stories,” the official added. Plans are also underway to develop books based on comics, he added.
S Madasamy, a former coordinator of the Arivoli Iyakkam who is now part of the initiative, said, “The programme can make a big impact, especially in schools where teachers are proactive. The books under this scheme have simple vocabulary, which will help create more avid readers and budding storytellers in the future.”
11 new books released
Chennai: Palli Kalvi Paathukaappu Iyakkam, in collaboration with Bharathi Puthakalayam, released 11 children’s books, each costing just `20, on Sunday. The books were released by former chief secretary V Irai Anbu and Model Schools member secretary R Sudhan.