Madurai among top five as Thiran scheme hits 90% target

Madurai: Madurai has achieved 90% of its target under the Thiran (Targeted Help for Improving Remediation and Academic Nurturing) scheme, according to the Jan performance report, placing the district among the top five performers in the state.Launched in July last year by the Tamil Nadu school education department, Thiran aims to address foundational learning gaps among students in Classes 6 to 9. Under the scheme, teachers identify students struggling with basic reading, writing and mathematics through baseline assessments and enroll them in six-month remedial programmes. Special classes in the district began in August, and 22,324 students are currently benefiting. In the December 2024 assessment, Madurai moved up from 17th to second place in the state, securing an 83% performance score. Officials said students showed an 80% to 90% improvement from the initial stages, with teachers adhering closely to the prescribed syllabus to strengthen reading and comprehension skills. Of the 51,506 students in the district, 22,324, a little over 40%, were identified under Thiran. Officials said overall learning outcomes among these students reached 90.43% in English, Tamil and mathematics. Chief educational officer Dayalan S said the programme emphasised supportive intervention rather than labelling students. "Teachers were instructed to avoid tagging students as slow learners and instead focus on strengthening their foundation through sustained attention and monitoring," he said. In Madurai corporation schools, 2,412 of 5,549 students were enrolled under Thiran, and 91% of them achieved basic learning outcomes. Education officials attributed the progress to dedicated teaching and continuous follow-up, adding that the long-term goal is to improve overall academic performance and ensure higher pass percentages. S Sashithra, headmistress of Government Model Girls Higher Secondary School, said separate question papers and a focused syllabus were used for Thiran students. "Teachers were assigned exclusively to these students for close monitoring. With exams scheduled in April, we expect them to perform well and transition confidently to the regular academic stream, especially as they move towards Class 10," she said.