The Editorial Analysis- In Pursuit of Social Justice

Table of Contents

In Pursuit of Social Justice- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes.

Recently, the Tamil Nadu government launched an educational program named ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi (Education at the Doorsteps) scheme’.

Technology Gap: The lockdown disempowered children from the marginalized sections as they did not have access to technology-driven pedagogical methods as the privileged did.
- Many who find online teaching convenient and safe fail to recognize this class bias.
Economic Disparity: The expensive nature of online teaching pushed a large number of underprivileged children out of the education system.
Deepening Structural Asymmetrical: The lockdown accentuated the asymmetrical structure of the school system.
Unavailability of Various government incentives: Many govt. incentives including free textbooks, free uniforms, free bicycles and nutritious mid-day meals, were unavailable to children of vulnerable sections during the lockdown.

About ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ scheme: T.N government launched ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ scheme to bridge the pandemic-induced gap in learning among school children.
- The lockdown disempowered children from the marginalized sections as they did not have access to technology-driven pedagogical methods as the privileged did.
Key Objective: ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ scheme aims to achieve social justice by providing various incentives like free textbooks, free uniforms, and nutritious mid-day meals which were unavailable to children of vulnerable sections during the lockdown.
Implementation: It will be implemented by volunteers first in 12 districts. It will be launched in other districts when the results from the 12 districts are positive.
- Some 68,000 of the 86,000 volunteers are women.
- This will help in allaying fears about the safety of female students and encourage them to participate in the program.
- The volunteers will teach an estimated 34.05 lakh children in the 5-13 age group in 93,000 neighborhoods for 60 to 90 minutes between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- Volunteers who have completed Class 12 will impart lessons for children of Classes 1-5 and graduates will teach children from Classes 6-8.

It is commendable that experienced teachers and civic and education department officials will be monitoring the progress of the students at the district and block levels.
By providing a concrete role to school management committees and community development activists, the program is turning learning into a social engagement.
When young volunteers impart lessons creatively in an unconventional atmosphere, the possibility of better learning outcomes is higher.
- This also gives children an opportunity to develop a critical understanding of their social reality.
- This will enhance their self-respect and help them probe the reasons for oppression and injustice.