A three-year hands-on programme for 50 students in Grades 6 and 7, focusing on basic to advanced STEM concepts, including physics, electronics, robotics, AI, and aerospace, has been designed at Jaigopal Garodia Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School in Choolaimedu. The students will have sessions with industry experts and participate in industry visits as part of the three-year program. They will also be given career guidance in the 10th and 12th grades and be eligible to apply to LMES Foundation’s college education scholarship programme.
The project sponsors, Grundfos and the Don Bosco alums, and the implementation partner LMES Foundation, believe that this initiative would have a measurable impact not just on the learning outcome dimension but also on the number of female students who enroll for the Science stream in the 11th grade, and thereafter when they need to choose a course in college. This initiative is a step towards achieving the State Government’s mission of bridging the gender ratio gap in the STEM workforce.
“This programme is an experiment we are carrying out with Jaigopal Garodia Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School. Analyzing the measurable outcomes, we will see how this programme can be taken to other state government schools,” notes Deepu Anthony, a batch member. “We decided to bring LMES Foundation on board as the implementation partner, as its parent company, LMES Academy, is engaged in establishing STEM labs in private schools. The Foundation has been conducting a one-day STEM education orientation visiting government schools.”
“In 2021, during the pandemic, when education went online, the 1997 DB batch alumni mobilized 150 laptops for students of an Adi Dravidar school. When education returned to physical classrooms for three years on the trot, from 2022 to 2024, the batch built classrooms in government schools. The batch aims at one social project every year. And every time the batch contributes, YRG Care will match that contribution. Dr. Sunil Suhas Solomon, chairman and managing trustee of YRG Care, is a member of the 1997 DB batch. Sunil is with John Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA, but heads the YRG Care foundation,” elaborates Deepu.
On why the batch steered away from what seemed to be a pattern of social intervention — establishing classrooms at a government school — Deepu says: “Ezhilan called me one day and apprised me about how the government is trying to bridge the gender gap in the STEM workforce. He sought to find out if the DB 1997 batch could do something that would contribute to government efforts in this direction. We took the idea to the batch and formed a core team for this initiative, and we decided that the gender gap in the STEM workforce should be addressed at the school level, and that too in a government school. Generally, students in government schools are unaware of the application of the courses they can take. We decided to set up a STEM lab and design a programme allowing specialized teams to step in and explain the applications of various STEM-related courses. It had to be a long-term investment in these students. When we told Ezhilan about our plan, his team evaluated a few schools in his constituency and chose Jaigopal Garodia Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School because of the enthusiasm towards the idea evinced by the HM and science teachers in the school.”
News written by: Prince Frederick,
The Hindu Newspaper
Source: Don Bosco South Asia
