14/07/2013
Infusing in them a ‘we are no less' feeling
"Government Arts College students with a rural background undergo grooming session to be on a par with their urban counterparts"
Sisters M. Malarvizhi and M. Pradeepa from Puliampatti near Sathyamangalam are final-year students at Government Arts College, Coimbatore. They use the one-hour travel time from their village to the college practising conversational English. And, from the way they spoke to this reporter without letting Tamil words creep in, was a testimony to the fact that the practise is paying good dividends.
But the confidence to do this did not develop overnight or without help. It was nurtured with much effort and patience over a year at the ‘Soft Skills' Development and Placement Centre' of the college. And the confidence does not stop with merely speaking in English. It also extends to “deciding goals in life, widening the network of people, taking part in extra-curriculars, stabilising the emotional quotient, and overall becoming better human beings”.
And the person behind this transformation is the centre's co-ordinator P. Suguna, Assistant Professor in Mathematics, who has taken it upon herself to groom these students who come from an economically weak background and have completed schooling in the Tamil medium.
As many as 25 students from the second year are selected based on certain criteria from across disciplines and trained everyday throughout the academic year from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on communication skills, value education, developing creativity, grooming personality with respect to personal hygiene, social graces, etc.
Ms. Suguna handles the classes with occasional help from colleagues and visiting resource persons who train the students on a voluntary basis.
The centre, which began functioning in August 2010 has seen one set complete the training programme. But for these third-year students, only the classroom training has ended, the real-life practise and training continues unabated. Many of them today handle classes for the second batch.
The girls and boys said that they were totally different human beings from when they apprehensively stepped into the centre. The second batch vouches for those changes.
S. Vijayakumar, second year Chemistry student, said that his seniors who underwent the training in the centre were different persons – kind and polite human beings – from what they were before.
“They serve as the motivation for us and we can see in them what we can become a year from now. The moment we enter this classroom, we feel different. We are eager to speak in English and take part in any kind of activity that is planned for us by our co-ordinator,” he said.
Since the infrastructure and resource person could only take on 25 students, the number was limited. But for the centre's students there was no embargo in sharing what they learn. They go back to their respective classes and share whatever they learn in the centre.
According to Ms. Suguna, the centre had proved that it was not whether the institution is Government-run or private, but what it was able to give the students that mattered.
“These children come to study with great difficulty. Most of them get to eat only a single meal a day. They are working part-time jobs and studying in shifts. Even though their domain knowledge is good, they lose out on soft skills. This training has helped them gain confidence to take up better jobs or higher education with no fear about their capabilities,” she said.
And, that is how Malarvizhi, a chemistry student, has her sight set on an IIT professorship, and Pradeepa on becoming an IAS officer.
Ref: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/infusing-in-them-a-we-are-no-less-feeling/article2830727.ece
