Amid rising number of student suicides in the state, the Maharashtra government has launched a novel programme called 'Avirata' for teachers with the objective to provide them with in-service online training for increasing their level of motivation, thereby using the potential to transform the lives of students.

The programme emphasizes that teachers have a significant impact on their students and have the potentiat to build a generation.

The programme introduces the teachers to the 21st Century 'Life Skills' and familiarises them with the techniques to identify the unique identity of each student. Further, the teachers are trained to determine a student's strengths and the areas which require development in order to facilitate an appropriate career road map for the student.

A state education department officer said, "As on date, 14,786 schools from 408 talukas are covered with the participation of 41,607 secondary school teachers and head teachers. There are 816 master trainers. Avirata aims to orient the teachers to change their mindset and attitude to ensure 100% children can learn. Further, this is an attempt for teachers to connect with the teenage students and address their problems more effectively for enhanced academic performance. A mind map is revealed to the teachers that summarizes the neurological developments during adolescence and factors that contribute to stress and how to tackle them.''

He informed that the Avirata focuses on deepening the understanding of students' psychology and application of the learnings in the classrooms. Besides, it lays emphasis on understanding the impact of the environment in the decision making of students, parents, community and school.