Now government school children in Kerala will get to interact with prominent artists, writers

In Kerala, the education department has the habit of going the extra mile to ensure that students are getting the perfect learning experience. Today, one such campaign wrapped up successfully across government-aided schools in the state. The programme titled Students with Talents was introduced by General Education Department of the state. The initiative, which was introduced on Novermber 14, Children's Day, selects 10 to 15 students from more than 800 schools to meet and interact with prominent personalities from various fields and industries.

The leading personalities from areas like cinema, literature, history and science conduct a dialogue with the students regarding Children's Day based on a message that is unique to their profession. The idea is to bring out hidden talents and passions within the students themselves when they are in the vicinity of people who have accomplished great feats. Students are introduced to people who are well-known in the locality where the school is situated.

Sugatha M, Deputy General of Education under the Quality Improvement Programme that falls under the Directorate of Technical Education says, "When we were students ourselves, we never got the opportunity to see such great people in person. These students get to meet people from various industries like cinema, literature and history in person." Major personalities that were a part of the programme include actors like Salim Kumar, writers such as the prominent Malayalam author Sethu and various others.

Sugatha herself had accompanied a few students when they visited Historian KN Panikkar in his own home. She says, "I got to witness how much joy and inspiration can be brought to these students just by listening to the stories these legends have to tell. But only 5 out of 500 students from these schools can actually get the opportunity to go because, often, the personalities are older and may not be able to travel to the schools personally." The students were personally selected by the teachers themselves based on their academic and co-curricular performances. 

Some of the students selected were those from Little KITES (belonging to the Kerala Infrastructure and Technology Education). Anwar Sadath, the Chief Executive Officer of the organisation says, "Students from across the state are seIected for this programme with the aim to introduce them to various fields and areas of expertise. The idea is to bring out their own aptitude for various subjects." The students who participate in the programme are expected to research on a particular topic in their own time. Each school that was a part of the campaign will send reports to the state level for evaluation