The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Baalu offers Rs. 2 crore for language laboratories

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 04, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Baalu offers Rs. 2 crore for language laboratories

Staff Reporter

They will also impart basic computer skills to students

ADDITIONAL FACILITY: Union Minister for Shipping T.R. Baalu in an additional building of a branch library which he inaugurated at Brindavan Nagar in Adambakkam on Saturday. School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu is in the picture. — Pho to: A. Muralitharan

TAMBARAM: Union Road Transport, Shipping and Highways Minister T.R. Baalu said on Saturday that he would sanction Rs.2 crore from his Constituency Development Fund for setting up language laboratories in south Chennai.

He made the announcement at the inauguration of additional buildings of a government branch library at Brindavan Nagar in Adambakkam, after School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu said language skills development laboratories would be started in all government schools.

Lack of English skills

Mr. Thennarasu said that owing to the lack of English skills, many students of government schools, especially in rural areas, were denied job opportunities.

To improve their skills, particularly spoken English, the Government planned to start language skills development laboratories in all government schools from the next academic year. They were aimed at putting the English language skills of the students of these schools on a par with their counterparts in elite schools in cities.

The laboratories would also impart basic computer skills, he said.

Mr. Baalu said he would release the funds after receiving a proposal from the State. The State and Central Governments were committed to improving education in Tamil Nadu.

The Centre would recruit two lakh teachers and build five lakh additional classrooms nationwide in the next financial year.

After the function, Mr. Thennarasu told reporters that the decision to shift school headmasters and principals to other schools during the Plus-Two examination of four core subjects (mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology) was to instil confidence in parents.

The decision was taken, as common entrance examinations for professional courses would not be held this year.

Ensuring credibility

As for the grouse of some heads of government and private schools that the decision amounted to the Government expressing its lack of confidence in them, Mr. Thennarasu said the decision was only to ensure credibility.

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