A new research project is doing the rounds in IIT Kharagpur. This project, undertaken by Professor TK Bandyopadhyay, Professor Pulak Mishra, Professor RK Pradhan and Professor PK Bhowmick of IIT Kharagpur and Professor Pijush Ghosh of IIT, Madras seeks to empower rural students.
C minus 4 model
The new study model, called Innovative C minus 4 model is for high school students, an official statement said. Under the C minus 4 model, high school students will be trained and mentored so that they can teach students who are junior to them by four classes (minus 4), the statement said.
‘C’ refers to class while minus 4 implies junior (minus) by four classes.
The project which began in April 2016, has been implemented in 12 schools in south Bengal and 11 schools in and around Chennai.
“The C minus 4 education model was conceived to develop the personalities of school going children during their formative years,” Professor Pulak Mishra had said.
“With the aim of bridging the gap between qualified and employable graduates, this model strives to make the current generation of students confident and knowledgeable, with effective communication and working skills,” Professor Mishra added.
Skill Development in Students
Students of nine of the schools, mentored under the C minus 4 project, came together at a recent workshop organised by the institute to showcase the results. The statistical findings shared at the workshop showed that of the 66 mentored students of the nine schools), 91 percent got better marks now, 74 percent showed better attendance.
81% of the participating students felt that their overall personality had improved, the statement said. Professor Ghosh of IIT Madras said it was very important to have sustained funding “to sustain the programme, to scale it up and increase its visibility.”
“We hope that the Central and state governments, non-governmental organizations, corporates and foundations engaged in CSR will adopt this proven social science research and help bring positive change in the Indian school education system,” Professor Bandyopadhyay said.
The first is already supported by the CSR fund of oil and natural gas major TechnipFMC India Ltd.
Source: Times Now