‘Kalika Andolana’, a campign for effective teaching as a remedial course will be launched on Children’s Day that is November 14 in all lower and higher primary schools in Karnataka to improve the quality of teaching and learning, according to Tippe Swamy, Deputy Director, Public Instructions, Bellary. This training is important to all students, he said and added that students can undertake the training either one hour before or after school hours.
The main aim of the programme is to bring to the mainstream the students who lag behind in studies. This will ensure that the children would develop speaking, reading and writing skills as well as simple calculations. It is aimed at overcoming the hurdles in learning so that all students would progress with same speed. The commitment of the teachers to improve the quality of teaching would be ensured.
This special campign is for students of third to seventh standards. Each lower primary school would be sanctioned Rs 1,000 and each higher primary school would be given Rs 2,000 for preparing for remedial teaching. An amount of Rs 20 would be spent on each LPS student for study materials and Rs 40  on each student in HPS. The campign will last till March 2008.
Though there are no mobile teaching units employed, a tent school for migrant children and out of school children would be set up in the mining areas of Bellary where many children are school drop-outs. A tent school in the mining area will be set up if there is a minium strength of 10 children. Teachers would be deputed for the purpose and volunteers would be pressed into service. A 12-month residential bridge course is also planned, according to the guidelines given by T M Vijay Bhaskar, Secretary, Primary and Secondary Education, Bangalore.
A time table has been prepared for classes third to seventh in two stages. The first one is for students who lack basic skills and ability. The second stage is for those who have secured very low marks in tests and have not been able to perform properly. Therefore, the course would set right the deficiency in learning skills and make.children who hesitate and diffident to learn the progress a friendly atmosphere especially during this “Kalika Andolana”, according to Tippe Swamy. He is happy that November 14, which is celebrated as Children’s Day has been selected to launch this revolutionary strategy.