Primary classes taught in mother tongue

Reshma Kousar When even the government schools of primary education are caught in with jitters of English, as medium of instruction, could you imagine a school with Telugu medium in the posh city like Vijayawada? It is Vikas Vignana Vanam- which literally means a garden of blossoming knowledge. A "Country like India with societal multilingualism could not continue to allow English, or any single foreign language to dominate the medium of instruction," Dr Parmi of Vikas Educational Trust, who is the mentor and founder of the school, told The Hans India. According to him, instruction through a language that learners do not speak has been called "submersion," because it is analogous to holding learners under water without teaching them how to swim. A So, for the Vikas Vignana Vanam students learning is playing, teachers are friends and nature is their instructor that helps them to stay away from stress and helps in their physical and mental development. The school situated at Poranki is offering various activities for the students that nourishes their growth, helps to develop their mind power without any corporal punishment. The school has classes starting from play school to 6, and Bommarillu is the name they have given for the play school. The primary school has strength of 360 students and the high school is situated in the Adavinekkalam village in 115 acres land. "It has Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education (CISE) affiliated syllabus that is offered in Telugu medium and from 6thstandard to 10th standard, we teach the students in English medium," Vikas Educational Trust president Anne Radha Krishna Murthy, a retired principal of Siddhartha academy, said. However, with the help of some of the activities the students of Telugu medium have equal exposure to English language as well, he added. There are 80 students in the Bommarilu section (play school) and they are divided into two groups like B1 and B2 to carry out the activities effectively. The toddlers has no academic sessions as their only work is to play, make stories, paint, playing in the swimming pool and have fun. The teachers under their supervision allow them to cut vegetables, mix flour to make chapattis, puris and other small activities that are easy for them. The activities like Kalisi Cheddam, Kalisi Matladadam and Pillala Sandadi are the three major events for which the students take active part. Kalisi cheddam is an outdoor activity in which the students of all the classes are allowed to do the gardening work, clean the ground, classrooms, planting, watering the plants and many other physical activities. This process makes the students to know about the hardship that adults have to face while doing these tasks. Kalisi matladadam allows the students of 4, 5 and 6 to express their opinions and take decisions about an issue. The combined decisions taken by the adults and children are implemented without any failure. Pillala Sandadi is a cultural fete that is organized for every 2 months in which the students perform, sing songs and enact plays as the programme continues for one and half hour for two days in the school premises. Speaking to The Hans India Principal Vijaya Lakshmi said that the students are not forced into any of the works in which they are not interested. She said that they focus on the practical approach than the bookish teaching. She added that there are no examinations for the students as they just evaluate their performance at the end of the year with the help of the practice tests.