THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Whoever thought English language still remains the loathed foreigner in the classroom for students in government schools, things are in for a change. The continuous efforts on the part of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in making government schools English-friendly have started showing results. Ablaze-2012, an English fest organised by the South Urban Resource Centre (URC) of SSA the other day at Attakulangara Government UPS, was an eye-opener in this regard. Children, spread across three or four classrooms, in LP, UP sections, could be seen trying their luck in the language. In one class, it was poetry, in the next, it was story-writing, skit and in others drama, recitation and so on. ‘Rainy day’ was the topic for the poetry fest. While some of the young contestants kept it simple like, ‘Rains are here again, my heart is filled with joy...’, some others penned the visual imagery of a rain in beautiful words. ‘’Never mind the simple or complex thought. The point is, a class II student in a government school can come up with a poem, just ten minutes after the topic is given. Which is quite a miracle,’’ said a teacher from Cotton Hill GHSS who was monitoring the fest. As many as 75 students, all winners in school-level competitions held in the 75 schools coming under South URC, attended Ablaze-2012. The products of the students, by way of magazines and creative publishing, were showcased at the event. A team from Haryana SSA, who visited the venue as part of their visit to SIEMAT, were literally impressed over the performance of the students. The portfolios created by students were also showcased. ‘’A portfolio is a presentation of the self by the student in written words and neatly packaged. Many students do it so wonderfully that you cannot but gasp at the speed with which they grasp things. The fest is an indicator of the development of students in language proficiency, which helps the schools to avoid division fall also, since this was one of the reasons keeping off students,’’ said Anitha, English trainer in URC. As part of Ablaze, Mikavu-2012, which showcases the best and innovative projects of schools, was also held. Teachers from the 75 schools presented the projects undertaken by them in the last academic year.
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