| Chennai
Chapter of Wipro programme launched
 The Chennai Chapter of the 'Wipro Applying Thought in Schools' programme was launched in the city on June 28 to cover eight schools and 250 teachers in a path-breaking effort to train teachers in empowering children.
The programme is being conducted by EZ Vidya, which loves the slogan, 'Let the child blossom'.
In the first year, this would be carried out in eight leading schools in Chennai – the PSSB, Ida Scudder, Lady Andal School, SBOA Schools, Sivaswami Kalalaya, NSN Matriculation, TI School and AMM. 250 teachers would be covered over the next two years, said Vijay Gupta, Vice-president, Brand and Communications, Wipro Limited.
Wipro intends to transform the teacher into a “reflective practitioner” who is a thinker and learner by using pedagogical techniques, he said.
“We will need to change both the way teaching happens currently and the way assessment takes place. The teachers have to be the change agent,” and the programme helps teachers equip themselves with newer teaching methods to enhance the teaching-learning process, he added.
“In the present system, learning is on learning by rote rather than understanding the concepts. We wanted to create better students with analytical skills,” says Gupta.
The programme was launched by Wipro in Bangalore in 2001. Currently, Wipro is working with 300 teachers in Bangalore, 300 in Delhi, 330 in Hyderabad, 45 in Chandigarh, 50 in Ahmedabad and 30 in Jaipur. Over the next three months, Wipro would launch the programme in Mumbai, Baroda, Pune, Kanpur and Kolkata. 4,000 teachers are to be covered by the year-end and 50,000 in the next five years, said Ranjan Acharya, Corporate Vice-president, Wipro Ltd.
 Chitra Ravi of EZ Vidya, a teacher-training centre based in Chennai, said the Teacher Empowerment programme comprised Workshops and School-based Support. Under Workshop training, teachers get equipped with contemporary methods of teaching over a period of nine months. The School-Based Support starts simultaneously and continues for two academic years to ensure effective implementation. The programme in Chennai would be taken to 41 schools in three years, she added.
The Chennai programme was launched by IIT Director M S Ananth, who felt that parents and teachers should not subject the children to stress by laying too much emphasis on marks and ranks. Learning should be made enjoyable. “In fact, teachers should teach only such portions which they enjoy and leave the rest of the text-book to be studied and enjoyed by children on their own. The role of a teacher should be only that of a facilitator.”
The Internet is accessible to children too but it should be understood that what one gets from the Net is basically Information. Knowledge should be acquired elsewhere, and teachers should help children in this arena, he felt.
“Teachers should relax, students will learn any way,” he quipped. (Our Correspondent)
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