SYMA Growth 2018-19 - issuance of Applications

SYMA in Social service since 1977, has been passionately  involved in educational service too. We live by the axiom that ‘Education is the only tool which can uplift the Society and empower the lower echelons of the Society’. The foremost responsibility of a Social Service Organisation is to improve the society and help the underprivileged.  This is better done by providing the children good education.   A fullfledged tuition centre that began in 2008 ,  our  cherished  initiative in educating the economically poor children, uplifting their standards and making them responsible citizens is now a decade old. At SYMA Growth, we have  X Std Tamil Medium; X Std English Medium; +2 Commerce Group and +2 Science Group.

In this period of ten years, we have strived to change the lives of at least 1000 + children providing quality tuition thereby making them responsible citizens of the society.  Many people have helped us in rendering this service.  The success is due to the blessings of Lord Parthasarathi who guides us in all our steps.  Our sincere thanks are due to all teachers, our coordinator Smt. Thara, all old students of Growth, NKT school management and principal, our main sponsor "Manpower".

Today 20^th May 2018 is a significant day as we progress into 11^th year of our Tuition Centre SYMA Growth.  

There are queues and milling crowds everywhere ! ~ a couple of decades ago, people would stand long hours to get a cinema ticket. They had to wait patiently in long queues for booking train tickets before computerization changed lives.  For IPL matches, people would not mind standing in long winding queues, even when the price is too high.  In most places, getting a ticket, getting admission is ‘on a first-come, first-served basis’ – for those in queue this could be frustrating as one will have wait long unsure of whether one would get admitted .. .. .. there have been occasions where parents come the previous night (just as crowds gather infront of US embassy !) and wait for hours for getting application forms of elementary schools.  To many of them, if the school is delivering success, it is worth waiting.  The school authorities on record would say that they did not want the parents to queue up and the serpentine line shocked them (inside enjoying their popularity)

SYMA always want to treat people with utmost dignity – in our interviews aimed at instilling discipline and making students and parents understand that ‘SYMA Growth’ is not simply a free tuition service, but one aimed at transforming the lives of under-privileged children through quality education, we talk to them in a secluded atmosphere thereby providing them confidence and ensuring that no embarrassment is caused when they explain their family conditions. Last year there were crowds waiting outside SYMA medical centre for hours and some had to return disappointed as SYMA is constrained to have only 30 seats per class.

There are various constraints – class rooms cannot accommodate more than 30 – 35; teachers may not give that private attention, if the numbers were to be high; we do not have resources and teachers to have more than 1 class – and every Organisation / Educational institution that way would have constraint of numbers. This time, we discussed this well in advance and kept notice board intimating that applications for  SYMA Growth tuition centre for the ensuing Academic Year 2018-19 will be issued   @ 9.30 am on Sunday, the 20th May 2018 at NKT National Boys High School. 

We made it abundant clearly that all those who stand in the queue @ the appointed hour till 10 am would be given applications, but getting application does not guarantee a seat.  The selection is primarily on economic criteria. Those with parental income of Rs.20000/- and above are not considered.   It would be of interest to you to know that the selection weighing some more parameters : physically challenged, students of schools of lower fee structure,  parents illiterate, parental occupation being manual labour / coolie and the like, orphans, children of destitute / single mother – all accorded some additional mark enabling that we select students who otherwise do not have access to quality tuition by paying fees.

With all this in place too, people had started assembling at around 8 am and by 9 am there were queues in front of the NKT National Boys High School,.  To ensure that there was no chaos or disappointment, all those standing in the queue were taken inside and made to sit in comfort as our volunteers took the names, registered and issued applications.  For +2 Commerce Group alone, we have today issued around 65 applications.  Taking cue from the way TN Engineering Counselling is done, this year we will  scrutinize the filled-up forms, and if the qualifying marks are still the same – have them in seriatum and select based on random number assigned by Computer.  We are keen on ensuring transparency and propriety in all our actions aimed at helping those students who otherwise would have no access to such quality education.

Today, we met those good 7 students who had performed well in exams conducted in Mar 2018.  All those who had obtained more than 7 had been invited and we counselled them on their career path and also made an online application to another Company which provides scholarships.  This was done by SYMA as a goodwill gesture aimed at getting some financial support to those toppers.  All of them   are from lower strata of society, mostly first generation students, odds are pitted against them in terms of infrastructure, parental support and general level of education. 

We thank Manpower once again for having changed the lives of these children - with the active support of great organizations like Manpower – other philanthropic entities and individuals who have been supporting SYMA over the years,  we will strive to change the way these students from lower-echoleons of society study, which will eventually help them in doing well in their education and naturally blossom in their career.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

20^th May 2018.