60 students from govt schools to visit temples of knowledge in Bengaluru

Coimbatore: As many as 60 class IX students from government schools in the district will embark upon a two-day exposure visit to Bengaluru tomorrow.
The trip, arranged by the school education department in association with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), will give the students learning opportunities in a fun-filled atmosphere.

The students will visit the HAL Heritage Centre and Aerospace Museum, Bengaluru metro rail, Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum, Government Museum and Vidhana Soudha.

“More than 90% of the students selected for the trip are from rural areas and a visit to a developed city will give them exposure to the outside world,” said an official from Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which is executing the project.

The students were selected based on their proficiency in Mathematics and Science, which was identified through multiple tests, and interest to take part in science exhibitions. “We selected only one student from each government school. The visit is expected to inculcate interest in Science and Mathematics. Also, the students will get acquainted with places of educational importance and the country’s diverse culture. Through the visit, students would be able to connect their academics with real world. We want to encourage the students to work hard and peruse higher education so that they can reach higher positions in their life. We also want to reduce the dropout ratio in government schools,” the official added.

The central government has allotted Rs 1.20lakh per district or Rs 2,000 per student for the trip. Last year, a group of students were taken to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram.

Meanwhile, 70 students from Class VIII and IX will be taken to places of educational importance in the district from Monday to Friday.