Education

Tamil Nadu has been a frontrunner in organ donation. Call it the collective effort between hospitals and not-for-profit organisations or the willingness of people, the state has the highest number of organ donors in India. The fact remains though that a majority of citizens are still ignorant about many aspects of donation, leaving a wide gap between organ availability and patients waiting for transplants. The NDTV-Fortis More To Give campaign indicated that an approximate 5 lakh people across the nation die each year, due to non availability of organs. The number reiterates the need to acknowledge citizens who are hesitant…

Scenes from the summer past in a Kodambakkam corporation ground: A flurry of activity, with boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 16 engaged in a variety of tasks-- zipping around the grounds learning to control a football as their coach guided them through the moves. Or, training in traditional forms such as silambattam, a form of martial arts using canes. Or learning folks dances popular in Tamil Nadu. A break from school that would've otherwise been spent idling thus turned productive, thanks to the local Police Boys and Girls Club that organised the summer camp for the youth of…

On June 27, Bengaluru’s National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) formally launched its digital academy, virtually, with the government's participation. Along with NIMHANS director B.N Gangadhar, who was at the office of the Union Health Minister JP Nadda in New Delhi, 500 doctors from 15 states logged in. "It was a formal event. We announced the course, launched digital books and shared the link to the website. We also discussed the agenda, and the benefits of distance education in this sector," Gangadhar said. Mental illnesses present an ever-growing cause for concern across the world. Statistics that emerge from…

A one-day workshop on “Human Eye and the Colourful World’ for high school teachers of science will be conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium on July  12, 2018.  This chapter, from class X text book, will be discussed in detail while clarifying conceptual understanding, suggesting interesting activities to teach optics in general and the said chapter in particular. Common misconceptions and textbook errors, if any, will also be discussed. Eligibility: Science Teachers of Classes VIII to X Date& time: 10.30 am to 3.30 pm, July 12, 2018 Venue: Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Sri. T. Chowdaiah Road, High Grounds, Bangalore-560001 Interested teachers must…

In April 2018, a teenage student from a reputed girls’ school in Gopalapuram Chennai typed out a long answer to a question on ‘the first crush you’ve had’ on a social media site. Just that in this case, her first crush happened to be a girl classmate. Soon, a couple of other girls from her class had taken a screenshot and started circulating it. The girls were teased, ridiculed, and labelled. Worse, several teachers of the school got to know about the post and allegedly censured and verbally abused the girl, even calling her a prostitute. The situation was aggravated…

The Ministry of Human Resource Development in association with the Swacch Bharat Mission and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is launching the “Swacch Bharat Summer Internship 2018 (SBSI)” for students all across the country. PM Narendra Modi, in his latest Mann Ki Baat program addressed the people and encouraged all the students to be involved in this initiative boost the country’s tourism and to contribute towards the welfare of the society.  He said that this is a great opportunity for people who really want to work for the betterment of the society and bring about a positive change.…

A Children-centric Chennai school Unkempt buildings, broken toilets, steep absenteeism and disinterested students? Fits your idea of a government or Corporation school? Think again. Perceptions and ideas develop over time and, once hardened, it is rather difficult to demolish them. While there’s no denying the fact that such schools continue to exist, the opposite holds true as well. And, one such example is the Chennai High School in Kottur. With a renewed focus on obliterating absenteeism and moulding well rounded individuals, the team of teachers led by an inspiring and resourceful Head Mistress is making heads turn. Tackling absenteeism in…

Two weeks ago, when B.PAC - Bangalore Political Action Committee, rated K J George and Haris the best performing MLAs, Bangaloreans were taken aback. While this ‘best’ was a relative term, it is obvious most lay citizens aren’t happy with any elected representative, given the state of the city. But how can we really evaluate an MLA’s performance on the ground and in the assembly? The MLA rating project was part of BPAC’s multi-pronged strategy to increase voter participation, from supporting voter enrollment to MLA rating, candidate awareness etc. The survey looked at the following parameters and weightage: 20 -…

With elections around the corner and all the political leaders sharing their vision for the state, we thought we at Makkala Jagriti would share our wish list for government schools in the state. This wishlist comes from the experience of working with government schools at grassroot levels. Focus on holistic development in each school It is well-known fact that Holistic development of children is very important for making them well-balanced human beings and preparing them for life. The very thoughtfully drafted National Curriculum framework also talks about Holistic Development: ‘The National Curriculum promotes the holistic development of the child. It…

Would you believe it if you hear that Chennai has around 160 public libraries? While the Connemara and the Anna Centenary libraries are icons in their own right, the city has a total of 162 part and full time libraries open to the public. From military quarters to hospitals and the regional passport office, part-time and branch libraries have been functioning modestly from a range of spaces across across different wards. The Tamil Nadu Public Libraries Act, notified in 1948 provided for the establishment of public libraries for both rural and urban areas across the state. As per the Act,…