Thoothukudi students to explore options under ‘College Dream’ initiative

Thoothukudi district launches 'College Dream' initiative to increase higher education options for class 12 students.

In an effort to increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio of the district, the Thoothukudi district administration has launched ‘College Dream’ (Kallori Kanavu) initiative for the first time in the district for students who have appeared for class 12 public examination. This initiative aims to provide them with clear insight on the higher education options.

The district has around 19,400 students appearing for the higher secondary final examination. This initiative is designed to help them explore various opportunities and engage in direct interaction with the professors and officials to have more perspective on their potential academic paths.

The initiative began with the students filling out forms provided by the district administration. These forms gathered information on whether the students were willing to pursue higher education, were unsure about the options, if parents were unwilling to support their higher education and if the students were unwilling to continue their studies. The form also included each student’s final revision marks

Among these categories, other than the students willing to pursue higher education, special focus was placed on other categories and students who scored less than 60% in the final revision exams. In this, each student will visit two colleges one in Arts & Science paired with another stream such as Veterinary, Agriculture, Law, Nursing and Paramedical, Engineering and polytechnic.

The initiative which commenced on Wednesday will conclude by April 29, with the goal of ensuring that all students participate in college visits.

Ahead of this initiative, an event was organised at the V.O.C. College of Engineering and the District Collector K. Elambahavath addressed the students, emphasising the need for college education in achieving greater success. “Students who have completed 12th grade are at the crucial point where they need to make significant decisions about their education. By directly visiting the colleges and learning about the courses offered, students will be able to make informed decisions about their preferred courses,” he added.

He stressed the importance of continuing education after grade 12 and urged both students and parents to eliminate the thought of stopping with school education. The Collector further mentioned the several schemes including “Pudhumai Penn” “Tamil Pudhalvan” and “Naan Mudhalvan” to help the students financially and academic support for students pursuing higher education.