More Trichy students bridge learning gaps but district slips from 2nd to 4th in state

Trichy: Addition or subtraction and reading or writing without errors are no longer difficult for 81% of Class VI to Class IX students who are being trained under the ‘Thiran Iyyakam' scheme, a state govt's initiative to bridge basic learning gaps among govt school students, in Trichy district. Even as the overall outcome improved from 63% to 81% in the second assessment under the scheme, the district slipped from the second to the fourth position in overall ranking in the state. Launched in Aug last year, Thiran Iyyakam focuses on identifying govt school students with basic learning gaps in Tamil, English, and Mathematics and providing them remedial training. In Trichy district, 29,678 students from Class VI to Class IX are undergoing training to read and write without grammatical errors and do basic arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.In the first phase of the assessment held in Sept, 18,882 students (63%) attained the required learning outcomes with the district securing the second highest percentage in the state. Students who did not clear the test were provided special remedial training. In the second assessment conducted in Dec, 24,174 students (81%) cleared the test, but the district slipped to fourth place in the state rankings. Kanyakumari district retained the top position with an 86% pass rate. Madurai jumped from the 17th to the second place with 83%, followed by Tuticorin district with 83%. Villupuram, which ranked 30th last time, moved up to fifth place with a 79% pass rate.The remedial programme will continue for all students until April. "All students will take the third assessment in April. Continuous assessments alone will confirm if students have a complete grasp of foundational concepts," an official said.