In the wake of the state announcing the plans to reopen schools for
Class IX and XI students, teachers have urged the government to consider conducting classes on a rotational basis. Citing insufficient infrastructure and teaching faculty in many schools, they said it was not
possible to ensure smooth functioning of
schools with 25 students per class.
S.Arunan, state president, Tamil Nadu
Government Employees Teachers' Welfare Federation, said the government had
strictly directed the schools to accommodate only 25 students in a class to ensure social distancing when schools were reopened for Class X and XII students in January
The government has now announced that Class IX and XI students could also visit
schools from February 8. Many schools,
especially the government ones, do not have sufficient classrooms to accommodate
all the students as per the standard operating procedure"
Pointing out that the situation would be unmanageable in higher secondary
schools, he said the government should allow the schools to conduct classes either on
alternative days or in two (morning and
evening) sessions a day.
T Arulanantham, said the workload of teachers would also go up. "When schools were functioning normally, a teacher used to engage about 28 periods five days a week. Now that only 25 students are allowed to sit in a class,
each class is considered a different section
and timetable is prepared accordingly.Just
for Class X, a teacher is taking about 30 to 33
classes a week now"
If classes were to begin for Class IX and
XI students, he said, the situation would be
come unmnanageable for teachers, who are
already handling more than a subject in some schools. "Many teacher posts are yet to
be filled as the school education department has not conducted counselling this
year" Arulanantham also suggested conducting classes on a rotational basis. "But
this might also push 25% of students, who
had no access to any electronic gadgets and
could not study during the lockdown, to a
difficult situation as they have only limited
time to prepare for board examinations"
