Chennai, July 4 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu School Education Department will select School Ambassadors in government schools across the state on July 10 as part of a major initiative to strengthen community participation in the functioning and development of government educational institutions under the ‘Namma School Namma Ooru Palli’ scheme.

Fresh guidelines issued by the department have directed School Management Committees (SMCs) to choose the ambassadors during their meetings on July 10.

The initiative seeks to build stronger ties between schools, alumni, parents and the local community, while encouraging greater public participation in improving government schools.

The selected School Ambassadors will serve a two-year term from July 2026 to July 2028. They will work closely with school authorities, School Management Committees and local stakeholders to improve the overall quality of education and strengthen community ownership of government schools.

According to the guidelines, the ambassadors will play a key role in increasing student enrolment, reducing dropout rates and motivating students to pursue higher education.

They will also mobilise support from alumni and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to improve school infrastructure and learning facilities.

In addition, the ambassadors will act as a bridge between schools and their former students by encouraging alumni to contribute through mentoring, career guidance, resource mobilisation and voluntary support.

They are also expected to coordinate with local organisations and community members to ensure sustained public involvement in school development activities.

The School Education Department said the initiative has received an encouraging response from former students across Tamil Nadu. As many as 26,221 alumni have registered on the Namma School Namma Ooru Palli portal, expressing their willingness to serve as School Ambassadors.

These registrations cover 8,209 government high and higher secondary schools across the state. The state-level launch of the programme was held in January this year at the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Ashok Nagar, Chennai, where the government outlined its vision of transforming government schools into community-driven institutions with active support from alumni and local residents.

To ensure a transparent and uniform selection process, Chief Educational Officers (CEOs) have been directed to supervise the exercise at the district level, while headmasters will function as the selection officers in their respective schools.

Before finalising the appointments, every School Management Committee must pass a formal resolution approving the selection of the School Ambassador, ensuring that the process remains participatory, transparent and community-oriented.

–IANS

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