Radio is the medium, science the message
Madurai
school children lend their voices to educate the masses out of superstitious
practices
P.
Karthik, M. Chitra Devi, P. Velumani and A. Siddarth may not be professional
radio jockeys. But their voices, presentation skills, and dialogue delivery
would make anyone believe they are. What adds sheen to their talents is the
fact that they are all school children aged between 10 and 12.
These
students of a government-aided middle school at Palkalai Nagar near here, whose
parents are stone quarry workers, cattle rearers, taxi drivers and casual labourers,
have been lending their voices to a number of science popularization programmes
aired by All India Radio (AIR) across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The
programmes were produced by AIR- Madurai at the behest of Vigyan Prasar (VP),
an organization set up under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology for
promoting scientific and rational thinking. Groomed by their teacher K.
Malarselvi, who scripts the programmes, the children are now set to be part of
a new series to be broadcast next month, “It was my teacher who spotted my
ability and encouraged me. I stay in the hostel attachment to the school and felt
very happy on the day when my father, living in Thenpalanji, heard my voice on
the radio and called me up to say that I spoke very well. I also feel very
happy to disseminate scientific concept through folk performances such as
‘Villu Paatu”, Chitra Devi said.
T.V.
Venkateswaran, academic head of VP, said that involving school and college
students in the production process had helped the students hone their inherent
skills. Describing his organization, a body comprising 50 scientists, as a
facilitator, he said that the field work for developing a scientific temper
among the people is left to students and science forums.
Radio
audiences had grown and radio was still the best medium to reach the rural
masses, he noted. “We aim to banish superstition and irrational practices”, he
added.
However,
the biggest challenge in taking scientific concepts to the masses is in making
the programmes interesting. Though the programmes were produced in different
languages and dialects, the prime concern was that they should not end up
becoming boring discourses. That is why students, teacher and NGOs are involved
in the task of making them interesting.
J.
Balasubramaniam, head, Department of Journalism and Science Communication,
Madurai Kamaraj University, said that his department had now been given the
task of assessing the quality of education programmes that had been produced
and aired so far by AIR. The assessment report would help VP in future
programmes.
P.
Rajamanickam, executive member of All India People’s Science Network (a
conglomeration of science for a across the country) and principal investigator
appointed by Vigyan Prasar for evaluating a series of 10 educational programmes
aired so far, said that the programmes were programmes were produced with the
sole aim of taking the message of science to the masses.
“Apart
from students, teachers and NGOs, we have enlisted a fisherwoman to explain the
process of making dry fish. Now we are going to assess if what we did was right
or not, whether the language used in those programmes was effective and whether
the principles of effective communication were followed in them”, he said.
S.
Murugesa Pandian, programme executive of AIR- Madurai, said that natives of
Madurai should be proud of the fact that the programmes were produced here and
aired across the State. “From next month, we have planned to air a series of
episodes on acclaimed mathematicians.
“Of
the 26 episodes planned on the subject, the script for13 are ready. One of the
scripts that is under consideration for the series has been prepared by
Palakalai Nagar Middle School students on none other than Indian math genius
Srinivasa Ramanujan. The episode will unravel many little known facts about the
genius, including his fondness for munchies during his childhood,” he said with
a smile.
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