IIT Madras Sets Sight on Transforming Science Education in 50,000 Govt Schools with Vernacular Approach by 2026

IIT Madras aims to influence 50,000 government school students by 2026 across seven states through its program designed to promote science and offer career counselling in local languages to government school students. Check details here 

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has set a goal to engage 50,000 students from government schools across seven states by 2026. This effort is part of an initiative to encourage interest in science and offer career guidance in native languages to students in government schools. This program is offered at no charge, aiming to inspire students to pursue careers in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

The Institute has distributed 3,20,702 books to 9,193 rural and government schools in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Schools and students who are interested in participating can register online at: https://biotech.iitm.ac.in/Faculty/CNS_LAB/outreach.html. 

Activities undertaken through the initiative

• Popular Science books are translated into vernacular languages and are distributed to government school students
• Providing career guidance to students in vernacular languages
• Motivating students on careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) through science experiments and inspirational sessions 

As part of this initiative, the team conducts school visits to enhance the enjoyment of learning. Specialists interact with students to convey the significance of comprehending and applying science in everyday life as an integral aspect of their education. To foster a more dynamic and engaging atmosphere, several experiments are showcased during these sessions.

Free Career Guidance Assessment - My Choice My Future

Through this initiative, the school students go through a free career guidance assessment called ‘My Choice My Future’ (MCMF), a tool developed by faculty and alumni of IIT Madras in partnership with BodhBridge. The MCMF tool offers a straightforward career guidance assessment, delivering in-depth insights. As an online career guidance solution, it assists school students in pinpointing appropriate career trajectories based on their strengths.

Currently, this tool supports seven Indian languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, and Marathi besides English. It provides career guidance sessions to students, focusing particularly on top careers with a strong emphasis on the STEM fields. Through this initiative, the institute has reached 10,931 students across over 100 schools in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

Highlighting the need for such initiatives, Prof. V. Srinivas Chakravarthy, Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, IIT Madras, said, “Popular science serves as a bridge, translating complex scientific concepts into a language that makes it more accessible to a broader audience. Currently, we are able to reach out to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. I take this opportunity to thank IIT Madras, IIT Madras alumni and all the donors who have been instrumental in supporting this cause.”

Feedback from Schools 

Sharing feedback on the sessions being held under this initiative, Mr. J Chandra Sekhar Gowd, Headmaster, Zilla Parishad High School, Siddarampuram village, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, said, “This is an excellent initiative to awaken the genius in students through scientific knowledge. The service you are providing to the students makes every student develop reasoning faculty and scientific thinking. Reading science fiction makes a child experience thrill and it develops imagination and higher order thinking.”

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