Students, educationists hope issues will be addressed

[sajiv]

Students, educationists hope issues will be addressed

CHENNAI: Educationists and students awaiting the debate on Wednesday in the Assembly on the demand for grants for the School Education Department said they hoped that the Minister, Thangam Thennarasu, would address issues such as the common school system, uniform syllabus and road safety.

A government school teacher, who did not wish to be named, said that many primary school teachers like her hoped that the government would address the teacher-pupil ratio issue in most schools. "The bad ratio makes it extremely difficult for us to implement the Activity-Based Learning method," she said.

Another teacher, also a parent of a private school-going student, said the government had to take severe action on schools charging excess fees. "We hear of committees being formed, but we don't see any action taken," she said, on condition of anonymity. R. Shankar, parent of a matriculation school student, said it was high time that issues of safety got more attention.

A few other issues were in focus recently when a memorandum highlighting certain issues pertaining to school education was released by Kalvi, a collective working in the area of education. It emphasised the need for a common school system to provide free and equal quality of education for all children.

The memorandum, was the outcome of detailed consultations with various educationists, academics and non-governmental organisations, its representatives said. "The government must clarify the reasons for closure and the purpose for which the lands and buildings of the schools are being used," said educationist S.S. Rajagopalan. "A child should never be asked to walk for more than a kilometre to go to school," he said.

The shortage of quality teaching staff in government schools was attributed to rapid decline in the allocation for education . "In the 1960s, 30 per cent of the State budget was allotted. It kept declining, and is today around 14.5 per cent," said V. Vasanthi Devi, convenor of Kalvi. According to the Annual Status of Education Report, only 50 per cent of students studying in Class V in the State could read a Tamil textbook meant for Class II students.

"The government has been encouraging a parallel system of education. This scenario has to change and every child should be given equal opportunities," said Mr. Rajagopalan.