City: Chennai

Schools under Greater Chennai Corporation to be revamped ICT for teacher development, infrastructure, classrooms and school management systems will be revamped in 80 schools run by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). The timeline for the project is six months. Around Rs. 174.91 crore has been allocated for revamping the schools under the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) and Singara Chennai 2.0.  The revamping includes a greater focus on homework, remedial sessions and weekly tests.  Additionally, GCC plans to build 3600 classrooms and get 4000 more dual desks for the schools. GCC has already bought 10,000 dual desks…

"Right to Education is a beacon of hope for us as we wish to see our children get educated," says Sita*, a daily wage worker. Her child has secured admission in a private matriculation school in Chennai on a seat reserved under the Right to Education, or RTE, Act. "We cannot afford the fees of private schools. I did not study, but I want to see my child educated, and climb up the ladder of life." The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE) is an Act of the Parliament of India…

Yuvan Aves is a nature-educator, naturalist, writer and activist based in Chennai. He is the Founder-Trustee of Palluyir Trust for Nature education and Research, and along with his team of young naturalists, conducts a number of immersive learning experiences for children and young adults. These include walks and workshops in various geographies and biodiversity areas in Chennai. This type of teaching and learning has been termed as ‘nature based learning (NBL)’, which Yuvan explains, is a self guided, real world learning experience. Yuvan's team makes a range of NBL material and curricula for Chennai schools to apply. In an interview…

"I used to crave street food as a teenager. I frequently had lunches and dinners from roadside vendors for more than 5 years," said Shruti, a resident of KK Nagar. A few years ago she suffered from food poisoning due to one such meal and had to miss her college semester exams. "That was when it hit me how unhealthy street food in Chennai could be." How does Chennai's street food scene fare on food safety and hygiene? What should you look out for the next time you decide to treat yourself to some scrumptious roadside chaat or bajjis on…

Pallikaranai marshland has become the first wetland in Chennai to get the Ramsar tag in July 2022. The award of the Ramsar tag is part of UNESCO's Ramsar Convention, which is an intergovernmental treaty aimed to conserve wetlands. India has been a party to the treaty since 1982. While this is welcome news, Pallikaranai has also seen a lot of damage over the years, despite being a "protected zone" as per the Tamil Nadu Forest Act. From 2,650 hectares, the wetland has shrunk to around 700 hectares, thanks to encroachments by government and private entities, garbage dumping, leakage of untreated…

GCC to create 28 new playgrounds In a welcome move, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has planned to construct 28 new playgrounds with several amenities across the city. It would be made free for the public. A sum of Rs 29.4 crore has been allotted to construct the playgrounds.  Ten of these playgrounds will come up in the first phase of the project. In a bid to make it more accessible for people from the economically-weaker sections, the GCC has planned to set up these grounds near Urban Habitat Development Board colonies. As a pilot, a playground has been created near the KP…

With the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns, schools in Chennai run by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) saw record high enrolment of new students. Across the 281 schools run by the civic body in the city, the total number of students increased from 90,394 in 2020-21 to 1,13,793 in 2021-2022, a 10-year high in enrolment. Many of these students moved from private schools to GCC-run schools in the middle of the pandemic. Loss of jobs for parents during the lockdown, the government declaring 'all pass' for all class students, and private schools demanding the same fee even for…

Parithi ElamSurithi is the son of six-time MLA of Egmore Parithi Elamvazhuthi. While his late father fell out with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) after an association spanning three decades, Parithi ElamSurithi's loyalties continued to rest with the party. He has been active as part of the DMK Youth Wing since 2009, holding various posts prior to his election as Councillor of Ward 99. Despite being a first-time Councillor, he says his experience on the field in the past decade has held him in good stead. "Members of my party, right from the Chief Minister, are my inspiration for the…

It is a truth universally acknowledged that public transit in Chennai is fragmented, poor in service quality, and dying a slow death in the last two decades. Certainly, the patronage numbers of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) and other modes of public transport would support this with modal share dropping over the last few decades, concomitant with an increase in the modal share of private vehicles.  The experiential knowledge of service quality is that service frequency, in particular of the MTC buses is poor and unpredictable; buses and trains are often crowded, and signage and information on fares and routes…

Stepping into the 76th year of Independence, India now has 75 wetlands that have got the coveted Ramsar site tag. After a gap of 20 years, Tamil Nadu has got the Ramsar tag for 13 wetlands across the State in 2022. This makes Tamil Nadu the State with the highest number of Ramsar sites in India.  Pallikaranai marshland in Chennai has become the first wetland in the city to get the Ramsar tag. What is a Ramsar site? A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as "The Convention…