COIMBATORE: Corporation
schools in Coimbatore are set to match their international and private
counterparts in providing top class infrastructure to students. Be it
air conditioned classrooms or computers and wi-fi connections,
corporation schools want to ensure that students do not feel left out.

Recently, Maniyakarampalayam Corporation High School
near the city was given 25 laptops with full-time internet
connectivity. As part of the ‘digital equalizer’ programme, corporation
schools will be provided with e-content for teaching students. These
modern day classrooms are known as smart classrooms and have been
provided with an interactive white board apart from the laptops. The
students can use the laptops for reference while the teacher interacts
on the board. A full-time computer teacher has been appointed by the
American India Foundation, an NGO which has sponsored the laptops. The
corporation has announced that this programme will be extended to five
schools in the corporation limits.

A Thangaraj, headmaster of
Maniyakarampalayam school, said all classes are given three periods in
the classroom. “From class VI to IX, all students are brought to the
smart classroom at least thrice a week. Using internet clips and
pictures, sometimes even 3-D pictures, makes it easier for students to
comprehend,” he said. V Devandran, a class 7 student, says he is
‘thrilled’ to study using these aids. “We were shown clippings of many
famous poems from some popular films. We look forward to these classes,”
he added.

V Alexander, zonal coordinator of American India
Foundation, who sponsored the facilities at this school, says teachers
have been trained and provided e-content of the syllabus to make it
easier for them to interact with the students. They have been
tailor-made in a way that they can be taught easily. “The biggest
challenge is that this should be used constructively,” he said adding
that students and teachers are taught how to make presentations, to type
in Tamil and regular assignments are given based on this.