Ranipet: The district administration and the School Education Department are jointly implementing an initiative called 'Thoduvaanam' to enhance the learning interest, individual talents, personality, and social responsibility of government school students.
School campuses are being transformed to be greener and cleaner in order to create an environment where students can learn with joy. Education does not end with textbooks and marks; this scheme is being implemented to develop various skills in students, including thinking ability, discipline, health, environmental protection, and leadership qualities.
Prized Uniform: On Mondays, students are engaged in activities in school campuses such as planting saplings, watering them, and maintaining them. Among them, students who perform well are awarded a commendation badge called “Green Hero.” Students who come to school wearing a neat and smart uniform are also encouraged with a commendation badge called “Prized Uniform.” Through this, an effort is being made to instill personal cleanliness, discipline, and pride in the school among students.
Rising Star: Activities are conducted including subject knowledge, general knowledge-based quiz competitions, storytelling, debates, and asking questions. Students who excel in these are awarded the “Rising Star” badge of appreciation. Through this, students are encouraged to go beyond memorizing lessons and instead think, ask questions, express their ideas, and speak with confidence.
Literary Star: Students read a variety of books beyond textbooks, including life skills and values education books, library books, student magazines such as 'Then Chittu' and 'Pudhu Oonjal', and short story books from the reading movement. Through this, various activities are conducted, including reading skill assessment, book reviews, discussion of ideas, creation of new stories, staging of idea-based dramas, essay writing, poetry writing, and speech competitions.
To encourage students who actively participate in these activities and demonstrate their talents, they are awarded the recognition badge called 'Literary Star.' Through this, students' reading habits, creativity, thinking skills, and self-confidence are enhanced.
Environmental Champion: Students are engaged in activities including maintaining the school campus and classrooms clean, removing plastic waste, segregating waste, and following waste management practices at home and in school. Those who perform especially well are awarded the recognition badge called 'Environmental Champion.'
Fitness Star: Health-related activities are conducted, including exercise, sports, and parade walking. Students who participate especially well in these activities are awarded a commendation badge called the “Fitness Star.”
By giving importance to different activities on each day of the week in this way, schools create an environment that identifies students’ abilities and continuously encourages them. The aim of the “Thoduvaanam” project is to shape students not merely as marks scorers, but as individuals with thinking ability, social responsibility, discipline, physical fitness, concern for the environment, and leadership qualities.
This initiative, which identifies students’ talents, brings them out, and continuously encourages them, is being carried out under the guidance of District Collector Priya and under the supervision of District Chief Educational Officer Mohana. It is expected to bring a new change to the learning environment in government schools across the district and serve as a strong foundation for students’ future journey, according to sources in the district education department.