Quality education: 800 teachers of KMC schools to receive training in skill dev

In a bid to help the students of its primary schools increase their attention span, improve their reading abilities and spoken and written English, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is setting up libraries under the project ‘Golpoghar’ while imparting training in English

language to teachers of 10 civic body schools with the help of an NGO.

The MMIC of the Education department of KMC, Sandipan Saha shared that the KMC, besides introducing audio-visual medium for teaching students, has now started a unique and first-of-its-kind initiative ‘Golpoghar Project’ under which libraries are set up in the civic body run primary schools and where children can help themselves with books to improve their reading abilities and increase their attention span. As of now, the initiative has been kicked off in five schools but more schools will be covered, confirmed the MMIC.

Further, the MMIC pointed out that in a bid to implement a model of fun learning for students, KMC is making use of graffiti on its school building walls, common passages and inside classrooms. He said that graffitis includes alphabets, numbers, animals etc. These are painted in bright colours and in innovative ways to ensure it attracts the attention of the students and in the process, introduce a fun learning method.

Commenting on what measures are being taken to ensure that the children visiting KMC primary schools get access to quality teaching in the English language, the MMIC said that 22 fellows from the NGO Teach for India are giving training in English language to the teachers of 10 KMC primary schools so they are able to teach the students in a correct manner.

About 70 schools have been converted into English medium. The remaining schools will also be converted. Additionally, about 800 teachers are being given skill development training with the help of other NGOs.

Responding to allegations that KMC has shut down several of its schools, he rubbished them and claimed that KMC has not shut down schools but has merged some of them with other primary schools of the civic body.

He said there are now around 224 primary schools under the civic body with 13,500 students

approximately.