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Like most government schools in rural India, the quality of local schools in the Kadapakkam area is very poor. Government schools are under resourced, have poor infrastructure, large teacher-student ratios, low teacher attendance (which has a negative effect on teacher motivation), and lack of equipment and teaching materials. This continues to result in high levels of illiteracy.
To ensure the children at Uluru Children's Home (UCH) are given a decent quality of education, a recent addition to UCH has been the development of an educational enrichment programme. This involves the employment (by TEWFI) of local school teachers to visit UCH in the evenings, and conduct tuition classes for the children. There is one teacher per one to two year levels, and between three and six children attached to each teacher. This impressive ratio helps the teacher to pay attention to each student.
In session for 1-1/2 hours every weekday evening before dinner, the residents of UCH get extra help for their studies and homework, with a different subject being taught on different days. In addition, each Saturday morning a further, special three-hour tutorial class is held. As part of the tuition scheme, weekly tests are given to assess each child's performance, and the results are tabulated as part of each child’s weekly and monthly report. This helps keep closely monitor the children’s progress.
In addition, computers are used as part of this educational enrichment programme at the Vicki Standish e-Education Centre. Another educational initiative for UCH children is the opportunity to excel in other areas such as music and sporting education.
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