Sivaprakasam Sivakumar
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A profile
From the archives of India Today
Sivaprakasam Sivakumar: Lecturer, DIET, Tiruchirappalli
Education
M.Sc from Annamalai University and M.Ed from Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore.
Public recognition
Got the 2004 NCERT award for creating an innovative learning experience for socially deprived children.
Mantra for change
Low cost, zero cost. He uses waste materials for preparing teaching aids.
A senior lecturer at the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), Tiruchirappalli, Sivaprakasam Sivakumar could have become just another victim of government apathy. Instead, starting in 1999, he started a project by the name of School Improvement Programme (SIP), radically improving the academic standards of 95 schools of Lalgudi union in the district.
In 2002, he started an innovative teaching practice called The Street School programme after realising the problems faced by rural children. Managed by parents who pay a moderate monthly fee, an educated youngster, usually a woman called akka, helps children through home study.
SIP also provides community breakfast, which is now available in 34 schools across Lalgudi. All this by travelling from village to village on a cycle, carrying his own food and water, inspiring teachers.
-by Banumathi Krishnaswamy
