Greater Chennai Corporation turns to public to help students excel in co-curricular works

CHENNAI: In an attempt to encourage students of Corporation schools to participate in co-curricular activities, the Greater Chennai Corporation has roped in prominent personalities and members of the public across the city to share their knowledge and experiences in a ‘Volunteer For Teaching’ (VFT) programme.

To complement and to break the monotony of their rigorous academic routine, students are encouraged to take up classes in music, dance and other areas under the guidance of the experts who volunteer under the programme.The programme is now taken up in Corporation schools in Adyar zone which covers  Adyar, Kotturpuram, Beasant Nagar, Tiruvanmiyur,. Velachery, Taramani, R A Puram, Saidapet and Guindy on a pilot basis and is conducted in the evenings.

“We encourage people living in the same locality to take it up since it will not be a burden for them to travel,” said a corporation official. As of now, spoken English classes are the most sought after, he added.”We map the demands of the students to what the volunteers are able to offer and organise the classes accordingly.”The project has been taken up in association with the NGO ‘Voice of People’. The programme, that was initiated in January, has 65 volunteers at work in the 25 schools in the zone.

Charu Govindan, coordinator of VFT said: “This is a neighbourhood-based programme. For instance, we have people who reside and work here, volunteer with the schools.” Requests for yoga, character building and value education have been received from students, teachers and parents, she added, based on which a schedule is charted for the volunteers. “The children build a bond with the volunteers which will go a long way in helping kids from disadvantaged families do well in all spheres,” she said.

Volunteers willing to register themselves with the organisation may submit their skill set and specify the areas they would be offering their expertise in. “We have recently collected feedback and the response has been very good. We may think about scaling it up by introducing it in other zones,” said a senior official.