The State government’s recent order stating that all government-run schools should start providing English medium classes for students between standards one to five as well.
The schools offer Tamil medium as standard and students now have the choice between Tamil and English way of learning.
The announcement is well received in Madipakkam, says the Headmistress of Panchayat Union Middle School (PUMS) that is present in the neighbourhood.
According to her seats for English medium have started filling up, much faster than anticipated, because of the change in the way of learning. Currently, they have received 15 applications.
The school that is present near Madipakkam Bus Terminus had in the past year not seen much interest among people because it had only Tamil medium of learning, the school officials claimed.
“Recently, we put up banners displaying the benefits of learning in English and since then many started approaching us to enrol their wards here. I personally feel happy because many parents are willing to enrol their children in a government school. Such sentiments have not been present in the past. Moreover, government schools have many schemes that benefit lower income groups, since they don’t have to spend exorbitantly for their child’s education,” said the Headmistress, who declined to reveal her name.
When asked about the teaching method they go by, the Headmaster said they stick with chalking lessons on the black board. “We will start teaching with advanced methods as soon as the government provides us with the equipment. Currently, we train students of Tamil and English medium in one classroom. We revise them lessons in both Tamil and English language to help them grasp the foreign language quicker,” she added.