Unless the COVID-19 pandemic situation improves drastically and schools reopen anytime soon, the higher secondary students across the State may end up completing their schooling without ever meeting their teachers in person.
The gaps that this season of remote learning may leave in the academics and personality of teenagers have prompted the State Education Department to rollout a mentoring programme for them facilitating personal interactions between teachers and students.
The programme, Oppamundu Adhyapakar (Teachers Are With You) is being implemented on a pilot basis in all government- and aided schools in Ernakulam under the Career Guidance and Adolescent Counselling Cell (CGACC) of the General Education Department.
“Under the programme, teachers in a school will be assigned as mentors to a specific number of students. While the counsellors and career guides associated with Souhrida Clubs functioning in higher secondary schools will lend the overall support, all teachers are being made participants in the programme,” said C.M. Azeem, State coordinator, CGACC.
A meeting was held by the district deputy director of education and school principals to chalk out an implementation strategy. The programme will be reviewed and based on its impact will be rolled out across the State.
The programme has its genesis in the quality improvement programme being implemented by the Education Department in the 20 most backward schools a year. The programme that included even house visits by the teachers has been found highly effective.
“We have asked the teachers to conduct multiple interactions with students in a month to identify and address their academic and non-academic issues. While academic issues will be addressed by linking them up with the teachers concerned, emotional issues will be either referred to school counsellors or to government referral facilities,” said Mr. Azeem.
A training programme will be organised for teachers on tackling the problems they encounter based on the feedback from them after a month’s implementation.
