The children attending
Ilaignarkal school in the evening benefit from
the opportunity to continue learning and upgrading
their educational and technical skills. Day
pupils are prepared for employment through apprenticeships
in neighboring production units linked with
classes at the centre.
The aim of this
project was to increase the local impact of the
school by increasing its intake from its village
catchment area and extending its activities within
the village communities it serves. To do this
the project recruited more teachers and
upgraded its facilities.
The old facilities
were sadly inadequate, with no covered classrooms,
desks or chairs for the students. Classes are
taken outside with no lighting - evening classes
had to finish when it got dark! Despite these
handicaps the achievements of Ilaignarkal School
are remarkable.
To tackle this
problem the project constructed new school
buildings, comprising two classrooms, a multi-purpose
hall, mini-kitchen and toilets. The building is
climatically appropriate to minimise the need
for artificial ventilation and lighting, and was
built using compressed mud brick technology developed
in Auroville. The landscaping was developed
to enable as many activities as possible can still
be conducted outdoors.
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