Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has said he will visit Attappady in Palakkad for a meeting to discuss problems related to education there.
He was speaking after inaugurating a one-day training programme for Attappady bridge course teachers here on Friday.
There are 35 schools across lower primary, upper primary, high school, and higher secondary levels in Attappady. The General Education department has been planning programmes to prevent students from dropping out of school, a major problem that existed in the area.
As tribal students had a tough time adjusting to the education system and language in these schools, various activities for their academic growth were taken up under the leadership of Kudumbashree.
To prevent dropouts, educated youth from within the tribal settlements were selected to provide classes to the students. This was the start of the bridge courses. The classes helped students learn the course in their language and over time become more interested in studies. The bridge courses helped bring to school even students who had stayed away till then. The courses helped bring down significantly the number of dropouts. At present, the bridge courses are being used to support the ‘Sampoorna saksharatha sampoorna thulyatha’ programme being implemented in association with the Kerala State Literacy Mission.
The training is intended to provide more vigour to the activities of the bridge course teachers.
The course is being implemented in 94 settlements at present. As many as 1,212 students are getting its benefit, Mr. Sivankutty said.
State Council of Educational Research and Training Director Jayaprakash R.K. presided over the function.
