CHENNAI: "We will make sure every child going to government and aided schools in the State is able to read Tamil fluently by the end of this academic year," said Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Monday. He was speaking at the launch of the `padippum inikkum' project being implemented by the State Government as part of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme.

The project was launched following a study conducted by officials and activists, which brought to light the poor levels of reading among children in classes three to five.

First phase

The first phase of the campaign would cover Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, Thiruvannamalai, Krishnagiri and Vellore districts. The project would be extended to other districts in phases two and three.

Mr. Thennarasu said every child constantly learnt from its environment. "If children who are capable of learning on their own are not able to read fluently, making classroom learning more interactive and interesting will certainly help," he remarked.

Skill-based assessment

Balaji Sampath of Aid India, a non-governmental organisation that conceived the project modules, said the project demanded skill-based assessment and group activities in the classroom. Children would be divided into groups based on their proficiency in reading skills. Teachers would engage them in group activity, specifically designed to enhance reading ability, for one hour everyday, during the next four months.

The SSA's State Project Director T.K. Ramachandran said NGOs were roped in so that the project could benefit more students.

Enrolment ratio

The State was largely comfortable in terms of enrolment ratio and needed to focus on quality next. V. Vasanthi Devi, former Vice-Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, said no NGO could implement projects on a large scale unless backed by the Government.

She said responses from students and teachers during the testing phase of the project were very encouraging.

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