Chennai: It is a small but an important gesture worth emulating for all those who are keen to contribute to the goal of good governance and inclusive development. Meghanath Reddy J, an IAS officer of 2013 batch and currently serving as Collector, Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, helps school students overcome their academic doubts and shares tips with them to excel in their lives!

Under the ‘Coffee with Collector’ initiative, Meghanath Reddy J interacts with school children once a week. During these sessions, he addresses doubts and curiosities of children and also answers to their questions. The interaction takes place over a cup of coffee and the students are able to have informal conversation with the Collector alone. He interacts with children from government school once a week. The Collector has conducted 12 sessions till now.

Talking to Bureaucrats India, he said: “As a Collector, I have to review all departments. While I was reviewing the Education Department in the last week of December, I felt that students of government schools lack exposure. However, they have the potential to excel. So I thought that I should find a way to interact with them. Then the idea of ‘Coffee with Collector’ popped up in my mind.”

He further added that he wanted to bring those students to the Collectorate and wanted them to have a feel of how the Collectorate works. “I wanted to have a one-on-one interaction with them. I first ask them to introduce themselves, share their dreams and ambitions. Then I share anecdotes from my experience. The highlight is, of course, the question-answer session,” he said.

The District Administration chooses 20 children from each block every week, of which 10 are girls and 10 are boys. Children are from higher secondary government schools. The Collector sits and interacts with them for two hours. The selection procedure of the children is handled by the Education Department. Children are selected from different fields like sports, music, drawing, general knowledge and other disciplines apart from those who are interested only in studies. 

Reflecting further, Meghanath Reddy J said that he listens to them and tries to know their perspectives, thoughts on various issues. “I gained a lot of insights on how these young minds work. Each one of them has a goal in life. With little guidance, they will be able to achieve heights,” he said.

Citing an example, he said that one of the students asked him about his plans for the betterment of the district. He asked one student about his goal to which he replied that he wanted to be a businessman so that he can give employment to people.

Lastly he said that these children are full of hope, positivity and enthusiasm. “They have the attitude of never giving up. They also observe their surroundings through social media, news and movies. They ask very deep questions like how I do measure success and failure. What was my first failure and much more? We need to nurture them and their talent well,” added Meghanath Reddy J. /BI/   

ENDS