A live fish curry cooking demonstration, a novel reimagined through digital tools, and students practising conversations with artificial intelligence – are just some of the unique ways six local educators are bringing the Tamil language beyond textbooks and into their students’ everyday lives.
The Tamil teachers were recognised at the Most Inspiring Tamil Teachers’ (MITT) Award Ceremony held on Aug 29 at the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre. Jointly organised by Tamil Murasu, the Singapore Tamil Teachers’ Union (STTU), and the Tamil Promotion Committee (TPC), the awards honour educators who have found innovative ways to nurture a love for Tamil among students.
TPC Chairman and Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, attended the event as Guest of Honour, which drew an audience of 250 people, including community leaders, teachers, students, and members of the public.
Delivering the opening remarks, STTU President, Mr Danapal Kumar, noted that a teacher’s impact extends beyond the textbook.
“Students might forget the lessons they were taught. But they will never forget the moments they laughed and chatted with their teachers, and how they encouraged them when they stumbled,” he said.
Keeping Tamil alive could not rest on schools alone. The language thrives only when youth use it at home, in the community, and in public spaces, he added.
A conversation on how to take Tamil beyond the classroom to youths’ everyday lives also took centre stage in a live podcast moderated by Tamil Murasu journalist, Mr Yugesh Kannan, with Tamil Murasu’s Audience and Growth Editor, Mr Venga Subramaniam, and TPC Head Secretariat, Ms Magahletchimi Amarthalingam.
It was also announced that Balar Murasu, Tamil Murasu’s Tamil-language magazine for young children, will be distributed free from next year to support their transition from preschool to Primary 1 and Primary 2.
Four decades of innovation
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to 68-year-old Mrs Mahadevi Balasundaram of St. Hilda’s Primary School, whose teaching career spans 42 years.
Having started at Telok Kurau East School, she has seen students increasingly respond in English even when addressed in Tamil. Rather than resist the shift, she adapted.
An early adopter of technology in Tamil education, she presented on school-based internet resources at the international TamilNet 97 symposium in 1997 and published a book on using computers to learn Tamil in 2000. Today, she uses tools such as Google Gemini to create classroom materials.
“The learners I have inspired, the educators I have supported and the love for Tamil I have helped nurture remain the most meaningful part of my journey,” she said.
From literature to teaching
For 23-year-old Ms Nandini Sivakumar, recipient of the Best NIE Tamil Trainee Teacher Award, literature and teaching go hand in hand.
Currently teaching at Christ Church Secondary School, she won first prize in the Youth category of the Tamil Writers Association’s Short Story Competition in 2023 and performed in the Singapore Writers Festival’s Kavipperukku in 2025. Her final-year project on literary components in secondary school textbooks earned a Distinction.
In class, she combines drama and technology while striving to be a trusted safe space for her students. “A teacher is not just a subject teacher, but someone who shapes the student’s holistic growth,” she said.
Experiential Approaches in Classrooms
This year’s four MITT awardees have similarly found ways to make Tamil learning engaging and relevant.
At Fuhua Primary School, Mdm A. Sumathi, 33, uses debates, role-play and AI-generated videos. In one project, Primary 4 pupils recorded home-cooking demonstrations in Tamil, giving hesitant speakers a chance to practise in a familiar setting. Her classroom practices have been featured in professional publications, and she has guided fellow educators in using digital tools.
At Casuarina Primary School, Senior Teacher, Ms Nashima Banu D/O Mohamed Ansari, 33, conducted a live fish curry demonstration to teach students about traditional Indian spices.
She also organised a learning journey to Little India in line with Pongal (harvest festival), where students gathered observations for compositions later published in Tamil Murasu. She expanded the school’s Uthayam Tamil Competition, encouraging Primary 6 pupils to research and present traditional Indian art forms, while using interactive platforms to tailor lessons to different learning needs.
At Crest Secondary School, Year 3 Assistant Year Head, Mdm Raihanah Beevi, 53, who has been an educator for 30 years, uses folklore, proverbs, and current affairs to connect Tamil with Character and Citizenship Education.
She was among the early users of LangBuddy, an AI-powered conversation simulator developed by the Ministry of Education and GovTech. It allows her Secondary 2 G1 students to practise speaking in Tamil before turning their conversations into essays.
Committed to supporting lower-progress learners, she also helped develop classroom resource packages and a professional resource portal for educators.
At Anderson Serangoon Junior College, Ms Kalaivani D/O Ilango, 41, has spent 15 years finding ways to make Tamil literature relevant.
She reimagined the novel ‘Samuthaya Veethi’ through digital tools, allowing students to collaboratively map themes and reinterpret characters. Her ‘From Podcast to Perspective’ approach sees students produce podcasts based on short stories before receiving AI-supported peer feedback.
She also mentored a student who won the Best Essay Award at the Singapore Tamil Youth Club Conference 2026, while the poetry recitation she introduced at the school’s AGNI festival inspired three students to publish poetry books.
