Primary school teachers in Tamil Nadu are gearing up for a new round of training to boost early education under the popular Ennum Ezhuthum (EE) initiative. Starting October 7 and running through October 10, this program targets learning gaps in foundational literacy and numeracy for young students.
The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) will lead these sessions, making it the biggest teacher upskilling effort so far this academic year. Officials from the Education Department say the training focuses on teachers for Classes 1 through 5. In these classes, kids sort into three groups based on their current skills, helping educators tailor lessons just right.
During the four-day workshop, teachers will learn to adapt their teaching to each group and use the “time on task” method. This approach maximizes classroom time for hands-on reading, writing, and problem-solving activities. They’ll also get tips on fresh handbooks, tracking student progress through data, and fun ways to make basic math and language skills stick.
“This marks the first level of training for the year, with more sessions coming up to sharpen classroom teaching,” one official shared.
The Ennum Ezhuthum program kicked off after COVID-19 disrupted schooling, first covering Classes 1 to 3 and now extending to Class 5. It comes with special workbooks and leveled materials to ensure every child hits key milestones in reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Results look promising so far. “EE has driven steady gains in early learning basics, which led us to launch add-ons like the Theeran scheme,” an Education Department source noted.
A recent State-Level Achievement Survey (SLAS) by the State Planning Commission showed Tamil Nadu’s Class 3 and Class 5 students beating both state and national averages in subjects like Tamil, English, environmental studies, and math—far ahead of the 2021 National Achievement Survey (NAS) scores. Experts credit EE’s step-by-step structure for much of this success.
That said, some teachers point out that the program’s pace has dipped lately as focus shifts to initiatives for Classes 6 to 8. “We’re glad to see paper-based assessments return and fully back EE’s aims, but we need steady rollout that matches real classroom needs,” one government primary school teacher said.
As this training cycle ramps up, the Education Department aims to recharge the Ennum Ezhuthum effort and keep Tamil Nadu’s recovery from COVID learning losses on a strong path.
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