Chess to be introduced in Tribal schools to improve learning outcomes

In order to strengthen academic results among tribal students, the Tribal Welfare Department is preparing to introduce chess as a learning tool in the State Tribal Residential Schools and Eklavya Model Residential Schools under its administrative control.

The initiative will launch next academic year. The ministry has initiated steps to train physical education teachers to integrate chess into classroom learning. Recently the department, together with FIDE Chess in Education (CIE) and the Emmanuel Chess Centre, organized a three-day workshop at Madras Christian College for teachers in these schools.

A total of 42 teachers from tribal schools attended the workshop. Women’s International Master Rita Atkins and FIDE CIE Commission Senior Chief Instructor Ebinezer Joseph introduced the teachers to the structure and educational value of chess. Last year, chess training was given to 22 teachers in the department.

Official sources said the use of chess to promote learning outcomes of students in tribal schools is not entirely new. In some schools, teachers have voluntarily introduced the game to increase students’ academic engagement.

M. Thangadurai, Physical Education Teacher at Government Tribal Residential School at Arnoothumalai in Salem district, conducts chess classes every Monday evening. He said he started teaching chess to tribal students after the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai in 2022. The school also organized in-house chess competitions. He said that he observed an improvement in the students’ concentration and thinking abilities after they started playing chess.

The Ministry has now decided to train more teachers and expand the initiative in a structured manner, officials said. Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Secretary G. Laxmi Priya said that the aim is to make chess a learning tool and improve the cognitive abilities of students. He said the ministry plans to focus specifically on strengthening chess clubs in these schools from the next academic year. It also plans to organize inter-school competitions and evaluate students’ learning outcomes after the introduction of chess.