TIRUCHY: As Ariyalur hogs the limelight for securing the top spot in the state and coming fourth in terms of pass percentage in this year’s Class 10 and Class 12 public examinations respectively, school faculty and students alike give special credit to the specialised study material that was brought out by the district school education department earlier this year and distributed for free to thousands. While the state's overall pass percentage in the Class 10 state board public examinations this year is 91.55, Ariyalur secured 97.31% to stand first among the districts.
Similarly in the Class 12 board examinations, the district registered a pass percentage of 97.25% and came fourth in the state. This, when the overall figure for the state stood at 94.56%. As the district’s academic performance continues to generate a lot of interest, the parties concerned credit the specialised study material distributed among students and the special classes held in government schools for the gains.
As part of the district school education department’s initiative, a select team of teachers, who were recognized for delivering results in board exams of the past, was engaged to prepare the study material exclusive to students of Ariyalur. While the school education department prepares similar study material to help slow learners, the ones prepared by the district officials were more concise in content, say students.
A Veeramani, headmaster of the Cholankudikadu government high school, said, "Slow learners are often hesitant to study five textbooks. The study material that was distributed in January -- a couple of months before the board exams -- had just around 400 pages. It captured the essence of all the five subject texts by referring the question papers of the past five years.” "The study material actually boosted the confidence of slow learners. We also encouraged them to study the material for at least two hours daily to pass the exams," he added.
S Manikandan, a mathematics teacher at the Anandavadi government higher secondary school, said the study material improved the overall average marks secured by his students. A Kayalvizhi, who scored 486 on 500 in the Class 10 boards, said the study material proved useful for last-minute revisions. Many underperformers of her class also benefited out of it, she added.
Minister and Kunnam MLA SS Sivasankar, who spent from his pockets to have thousands of copies of the study material printed and distributed to every government and aided school student in his Assembly constituency, said, " I was keen about it because students from the economically weaker sections cannot afford to buy guides. So I decided to distribute the study material to students of all government and aided schools in my constituency this year. As I received a lot of positive feedback, I am planning to distribute it to all the students pursuing Class 10 and Class 12 in the district next year."
T Vijayalakshmi, Ariyalur Chief Educational Officer, said, "Of course the study material played a major role in the district’s success. We received support from various quarters, including the minister. Apart from this, the special classes held in government schools in the evenings, regular inspections in schools that were lagging behind and interactions with the teachers through Google Meet yielded the results."