The government and private schools have been facing criticism from educationists for not taking measures to inculcate reading habit in children and not providing adequate library facilities to them.
V. Eswaran, education activist and secretary, State youth wing of MDMK, said that the government schools lacked the resources for libraries while private schools did not encourage libraries due to academic pressure. “The students neither have the time nor the encouragement from the schools,” he said, noting that there was a lack of understanding of holistic education in schools.
R. Murugan, Chief Education Officer, admitted that the library facilities in the government high and higher secondary schools were generally poor. “We are collecting the details of such schools to take action,” he said.
On whether the Department of School Education would collaborate with non-government organisations (NGOs) to improve the libraries in the government schools, Mr. Murugan said that the Department would be distributing books to 200 government and government-aided schools in August in collaboration with a private firm.
In 2015, the municipal corporation collaborated with an NGO named Arc Foundation to set up libraries in various Corporation schools across the city.
S. Baranidaran and M.A. Aparna, founders and trustees of the Arc Foundation, called the libraries ‘Dr. Kalam Library’.
Ms. Aparna told The Hindu that these libraries were opened in nearly 60 Corporation schools till 2018. However, no new libraries were opened in the Corporation schools this year, she said.
“In some schools, the library rooms remain shut and are used in case of any extra classes,” Ms. Aparna said when asked about the maintenance of those libraries set up by the Foundation. The libraries were set up under the ‘Mission 100’ project of the NGO, comprising 83 Corporation schools and 17 government schools, she said.