A capacity-building programme for primary school teachers of the Tribal Welfare Department from 10 districts was held in Sathyamangalam here on Tuesday (July 21, 2026).The programme, organised jointly by the Tribal Welfare Department and Mathi Foundation, was inaugurated by District Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Officer Sudalaimani. Special Tahsildar Ravi Shankar and NGO-Service Unit for Development Activities in Rural (SUDAR), Director S.C. Natraj were present.The participants, drawn from Erode, Coimbatore, The Nilgiris, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Theni and other districts, attended sessions on foundational literacy and numeracy, social-emotional learning, phonics-based reading instruction, student-centered pedagogy, classroom management, student engagement, continuous assessment, learning, monitoring, use of teaching-learning materials, teacher handbooks, and sharing of best practices.Officials said that over 2,000 students studying in government tribal schools across the State were assessed for foundational literacy and numeracy in September 2025. This was followed by focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with teachers, head teachers, government officials, parents and community representatives to identify the needs of the schools.Based on the findings, a year-long capacity-building programme for teachers in government tribal schools has been designed for the 2026-27 academic year. The training is aimed at strengthening classroom teaching practices, particularly among primary school teachers, the officials said. Published - July 21, 2026 06:46 pm IST