CHENNAI: The school education department has introduced a new house system, Magizh Mutram, across all government schools in the state to inculcate a sense of community, teamwork and leadership in students.
As part of the initiative, the students will be grouped into five houses – Kurinji, Mullai, Marudham, Neidhal and Paalai. These teams will include students from Classes 1 to 12, and houses will be reassigned every two years through the Educational Information Management System (EMIS) at the state level.
To promote equal opportunities, each house will have two student leaders.
In co-education schools, one boy and one girl will serve as house captains. In schools that have less than five teachers, teachers will be in-charge of more than one house. Additionally, each class will have its own house leader.
The house leaders and teachers will be selected through a draw of lots.
The schools have been asked to arrange for the swearing-in ceremony of house captains and class leaders on November 14, Children’s Day. Points will be awarded for individual and team achievements for various aspects such as punctuality, participation in the morning assembly, homework completion and personal hygiene among others. The other aspects to be considered for the point system can be decided by the headmaster and teachers. The scores will be prominently displayed on a board, and schools will declare a ‘house of the month’ based on overall performance. Each class will also have a points board.
A district-level committee headed by the collector will also be formed to oversee the implementation and activities of the house system. This committee will include chief educational officer, district educational officers, assistant project officer, two block educational officers and two headmasters. The department has asked all the schools to take necessary action in this regard and upload the photographs and videos of the swearing-in ceremony in EMIS.