A Survey conducted by the Scooldudes Team across 8 major cities in India and covering about 5000 school-going children has found out that 50% of the surveyed children in Chennai are acutely stressed with the reasons cited being heavy syllabus, long study hours (incl. after school tuition), parental/teacher pressure and lack of confidence. The stress levels of Mumbai and Bangalore children are higher at 80% and 65% respectively but that is not a comfort for the Chennaiites!! While this is so, today’s typical parents have another major concern – their child is totally locked up with his mobile or the desktop or the iPad or the tablet, playing some video game or the other or generally lost in the world of social media and the internet.
Thankfully, Mr. Ramachandran Kannan, an XLRI alumnus (1982 batch) and an HR Professional turned Academician, seems to have come up with a workable solution to this vexing issue, courtesy, the innovative and engaging App Scooldudes formally launched today in Chennai. The timing could not have been better what with the summer vacations just about to commence and the parents and children desperate to seek promising after-school engagement programs Started in 2013, as a fun-filled after-school hangout for the children between the age group of 12 to 18 years, currently, Scooldudes has a presence in Chennai and the other Southern States.
With over 10,000 participants already signed in through its interactive online internet and off-line engagement platform in the form of communities, Scooldudes gives children an opportunity to bond with their counterparts and gain experience that would help in developing their life skills through daily activities such as contests, and express/develop their creative, literary and thinking skills. The platform teaches life skills through various outdoor activities such as rappelling, camping, organic farming, cooking with firewood, bonfires, stargazing, archery, non-competitive games and so on.
