State to rope in mothers to tell stories in schools

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Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com/2010/06/01/stories/2010060158730200.htm)
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State to rope in mothers to tell stories in schools


Satyasundar Barik


BHUBANESWAR: The State is looking for an army of educated mothers who could devote a few hours out of their daily household chores to read out stories for students in classrooms of government-run primary schools across the State.
Involving mothers or housewives in story-telling sessions is seen as an attempt to get rid of boredom in classrooms and sustain interests among students towards education.
Speaking on the sidelines of a workshop on Right To Education here on Monday, School and Mass Education Secretary Vandana Jena said, “we want educated mothers to read out stories for children in schools for one hour, otherwise if teachers do the story-telling it would sound like another lesson being taught by them.”
To find adequate number of educated mothers, the State government is going to give more emphasis on school-level Mother-Teacher Associations (MTAs), said Ms. Jena, adding that instructions in this regard would be intimated to Orissa Primary Education Programme Authority and other educational establishments.
Although Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) were present in many places, most of them were not functioning on a regular basis, she said.
The School and Mass Education Secretary said, “MTAs would have another advantage.
It would also act as an important tool to deal with problem such as sexual harassment. A girl student may not freely reveal what is happening to her before a teacher. If a mother is there, she could feel free to express herself.”
Although initial plan was to make MTAs vibrant bodies in secondary school level, these associations could play a vital role in elementary level as it consists of 7th and 8th standard, she said.
Ms. Jena said MTA was part of various innovative practices in learning which the department was trying to adopt.






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