Will instruct schools on water bell initiative, says Minister

The Hindu

7 hours ago

School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Friday said that circulars will be sent to all the schools on introducing the water bell initiative in Tamil Nadu, like in Kerala.
Speaking to reporters, the Minister praised the Kerala government initiative, the water bell, which ensures students drink water at regular intervals. 'The Kerala government has implemented the scheme for the past two years. The Tamil Nadu government is providing morning breakfast to the students. We will send circulars to all the schools in Tamil Nadu regarding the water bell initiative,' the Minister added.
Earlier at a function organised at Hosur Government Urdu Higher Secondary School in Krishnagiri district, the Minister inaugurated STEM Innovation and Learning Centres at 16 schools in the district at a cost of ₹4.44 crore under Corporate Social Responsibility funds.
Mr. Mahesh said that there are 83 STEM Innovation and Learning Centres across India. Of those, 33 are in Tamil Nadu and 16 centres are in the Krishnagiri district. The American India Foundation, in collaboration with the School Education Department, has set up these centres with the aim of promoting hands-on, inquiry-based learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Students are provided with robotics kits, 3D printers, coding skills, and digital tools to develop critical thinking and innovation skills. Aiming to address early literacy challenges through the Literacy Training Centre, it focuses on basic literacy development among primary school students. It uses structured teaching methods and individualised support to help children achieve grade-level proficiency in reading and writing, he added.
Stating that technology is not equal to a teacher teaching a lesson in front of 40 students in a classroom, the Minister said that teachers use various learning tools to make the subjects easy for students to understand. Therefore, students should listen to the instructions given by the teachers and follow them. Parents should not compare their children with other students. Since every student has different talents, teachers and parents should discover and bring out the talents they have, he added.
Speaking at the Urdu Teachers' Conference, the Minister said that, as per the 2001 census, in India there are 52 million Urdu-speaking people, which is 6% of the country's population. Urdu is one of the oldest languages. There are many literary works and poems in Urudu. Many Urdu poems explain life's philosophy. Former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had said that Urdu was an Indian language. Government will always protect Urdu-speaking people, the Minister said.