For the students of Classes IV and V who lack basic learning concepts, the Tamil Nadu Education Department has decided to conduct bridge courses. The courses, specialising in literacy and basic numeracy concepts, will be conducted in all government and aided schools from the second term.

The move comes after a State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) assessment found that a few students of Classes IV and V were in the learning stage of Class I children. "Due to the lockdown, there is a learning gap among students. Some students in Classes IV and V are struggling to read and do basic calculations," said a communique by the Elementary Education Director to the District and Elementary Education officers, as per a report by The New Indian Express.

Details of the bridge courses
According to the officers, at present, about 10 to 15 per cent of students have been identified to be lacking in these basic concepts. They also informed that all the elementary and middle school teachers would be instructed to conduct the bridge courses daily for 30 minutes to one hour. These classes would be conducted with help from the SCERT which has already prepared study material for the courses.

Meanwhile, the basic numeracy and literacy scheme (Ennum Ezhuththum scheme) is already being implemented for Classes I to III and aims to achieve its goal by 2025. However, with this and the provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 being implemented in the state, teachers have raised concerns about the implementation of the bridge courses, as per the report in TNIE.