The Hindu              24.07.2013

Corporation distributes books to its kids

Even as many schools lacked space for library, the
Madurai Corporation on Tuesday distributed library books to its schools
to develop the reading habit among students.

Nearly
3,600 books worth Rs.2,40,000 were distributed, which were received by
headmasters and headmistresses of 24 corporation schools across the
city. Each school got around 150 books.

Addressing
the event, Mayor V.V. Rajan Chellappa said that the purpose of bringing
students and teachers together from different schools was to ensure a
wider reach of the benefits of reading books.

“I
appeal to all students to make the best use of these books that have
been given to their schools. It is extremely beneficial when books like
these are available at schools so that students learn more,” he said.

Corporation
Commissioner R. Nanthagopal also stressed the importance of reading and
hoped that it would open multiple doors of opportunities for the
students.

While the students and Principals of the
Corporation schools agreed that the books were a welcome addition to
their classrooms, a few of them also spoke about the lack of fully
functional libraries in the schools.

“There is no
library in our school since there is no space or a designated
librarian,” said the headmistress of a corporation school.

“Most
private schools have separate reading rooms equipped with bookcases and
furniture and infrastructure like this for our schools will be useful,”
she added.

Of the 66 corporation schools in Madurai,
only one school has a fully functional library that was inaugurated
last year. However, Education Committee Chairperson Suganthi Ashok, told
The Hindu
that plans were under way to convert a school on South Veli Street into a library.

“There
are hardly a couple of primary students in the school. We will make
sure that they are enrolled in another school. There is a plan to
convert the space into a library for students of all corporation schools
in the city,” she said and added that another school in Narimedu had
been identified for the same.

A few schools, however,
which had the space for reading rooms, had a different story to tell.
“We have rooms with bookshelves that we use as a library. Teachers are
assigned to lend books to students either before or after school hours,”
said Vasantha Pazhanirajan, headmistress of the Bharathiar Corporation
Higher Secondary School.

When asked about the loss of
interest in reading due to excessive pressure on students to perform
well in academics, Ms Vasantha said “We make it a point to tell students
during the daily prayer to read and encourage them to borrow books.”