A group of students from a Chinese school spent a week in the city as part of an experiential learning programme (ELP) for Indo-Chinese kids.
Hosted by the Nikita International School of Studies here, the students were from the Peking University Affiliated High School (PKUAHS), Beijing. Their school had approached a couple of Indian educators, who initiated the ELP named Cultural Exposure and Community Service in South India at PKUAHS.
Five high school students (four Chinese nationals and an Indian national) Liang Yuwen, Wang Yilin, Zheng Xiangyu, Li Ziyao and Nagarajan Mukilmathi spent a week with the students of Nikita International School
Chairman of Nikita International School, S. Thangavelu, says eight volunteers from Grade IX and XI from the school accompanied them during the trip which lasted from February 1 to 8.
A variety of co-scholastic activities were scheduled to give an exposure to the South Indian culture, agriculture, cooking, textiles, arts and crafts, besides games, religion and language.
The students visited the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University where they had hands-on experience in traditional Indian farming techniques. Later, they were taken to a knitting factory. They also visited the handloom and power loom units. The kids also met sculptors at Thirumurugan Poondi in Tirupur. The kids were excited to play traditional games at a local community school and learnt the essential terms of greeting in Tamil and Chinese.
Mr. Thangavel says, “This cultural proximity will continue with Nikita International School students visiting the dragon land soon.”