The Hindu: Chennai: Monday, March 19, 2018.
Finance
Minister O. Panneerselvam’s budget announcement that 100 high schools would be
upgraded as higher secondary schools and 100 middle schools would be upgraded
as high schools has not excited educationists.
“What is the
point when the government has not filled vacancies for the posts of either
headmasters or teachers,” asked S. Karupiah, general secretary of Dalit
Liberation Movement-TN.
When the next
academic year begins, nearly 10% of government-run higher secondary and high
schools will be without headmasters. The number of teaching vacancies is
expected to soar as more teachers retire by June.
In response
to Mr. Karupiah’s recent RTI query, the School Education Department replied
that currently, 918 government higher secondary and high schools had no head
teachers. By May, another 425 head teachers are expected to retire, bringing
the total vacancies to around 1,500.
Though the
Teachers Recruitment Board conducted the Teacher Eligibility Test, postings
have not been given. Not only were there litigations but the lack of a
permanent official in the Board also hindered appointments. The associations
want the government to improve infrastructure before demanding 100% results.
At present,
those recruited for lower classes are teaching high school students. We need
trained teachers,” said P.K. Ilamaran, State president, Tamil Nadu Teachers
Association.
K. Thirumal,
president of the Postgraduate Teachers’ Association, added, “Teachers should be
posted at the start of the academic year instead of just before the exams. What
is the point in asking for results when there is no infrastructure?”
Hundreds of
teacher vacancies exist in every subject, affecting students’ performance in
public exams.
Student-teacher
ratio
“How does the
government expect students to do well in the Class XI public exams? The
student-teacher ratio in high schools should be 1:40 and in higher secondary
schools, it should be 1:60. The government should allot more funds in the
budget,” said K.P.O. Suresh, who heads the PG Teachers’ Association in the
State.
The budget
allocation this year for school education is Rs. 27,205.88 crore. Last year it
was Rs. 26,000 crore.
Where there
are not enough teachers, students make do with peer support, said Samakalvi
Iyakkam’s general secretary Chella Chellakumar. “During our visit to some high
schools in Villupuram and Tiruvannamalai, children said they studied on their
own as there was no math teacher in their school. In some places, graduates
taught students outside school hours,” he said.
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