CM Stalin to launch Namma School project today; boon to govt schools

CHENNAI: To better equip government schools in terms of infrastructure and reputation, the School Education Department is introducing ‘Namma School Foundation’ in the State.

Chief Minister MK Stalin will launch the programme amongst educationalists and members of non-profit organisations (NGOs) here on Monday.

Currently, several government schools lack basic infrastructure, which, over the years, also brought a bad reputation the State-run schools are forced to carry. However, in some schools, teachers or other staff members with better networks manage to bring in sponsors to facilitate infrastructure development.

For instance, a government school in Triplicane managed to collaborate with NGOs to provide monthly/weekly counseling for students. On the other hand, another government school in Adyar employed a staff to clean toilets and schools.

As some schools can avail this facility and most cannot, the education department planned the initiative, Namma School Foundation, which can reach all schools and have better distribution of resources, funds and facilities through better networking.

Venu Srinivasan, chairman of TVS Motors is the chairman for the Namma School Foundation while Vishwanathan Anand is the brand ambassador.

The department officials say in the first phase, 100 schools will be selected to implement the programme. “Till date, infrastructure has been a challenge with respect to government schools. This programme will address it well,” said an official.