Celebs may now 'endorse' quality of TN govt schools

Chennai, Nov 06 (UNI) And now Brand Ambassadors for Government Schools!.

Sounds strange, but the Tamil Nadu government is seriously considering the idea as part of image-building exercise to highlight the quality of education imparted in Government schools.

''Yes, we are thinking about it. Having brand ambassadors will bolster the public image of the institutions and boost the morale of the students'', Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu said.

Talking to UNI here, he said these brand ambassadors with popular standing in society could help in giving a fillip to schools under the Government set-up.

''Many people still think that the quality of education in government schools is low. We need to prove this wrong. The quality of education (in government schools) is very high,'' he added.

''The government schools excel in various aspects. But people are not aware of it. Hence we are thinking of the concept of having brand ambassadors'', he said.

However, the idea is only in conceptual stage. ''It has not culminated into a concrete proposal...We are thinking on these lines.

We have to see how best it works. We need to study it before arriving at a final decision'', Mr Thennarasu felt.

The Minister said the idea was to try and get a few celebrities like film stars, sportspersons or people of high repute to visit some Government schools and interact with teachers and students.

The visits by prominent persons would give confidence to students, majority of whom are from underprivileged sections of the society, he added.

At a time when the government is giving top priority to the ''Sarva Sikshya Abhiyaan'' programme (Education for all), this concept would further serve as a boost to bring more children to schools, he felt.

''We will contact some reputed personalities to interact with the children'', Mr Thennarasu said, adding that the Directorate of School Education was compiling statistical data on the current status of school education in the State to address the problems and the requirements with a holistic approach.

The exercise would be undertaken in all districts to provide the details of the number of schools, teachers, students, infrastructure position and the socio-economic background of students, he concluded.

UNI