Calculation of parents, teachers go awry over Samacheer Kalvi

Updated on: Thursday, August 04, 2011

The patience of parents of school children in State, Matriculation, and Anglo-Indian boards is wearing thin even as the stalemate over Samacheer Kalvi threatens to throw the academic schedule out of gear.

A Supreme Court ruling over Uniform School Education is expected by this weekend.

But visibility of the damage caused to the school system due to prolonging duration of stalemate is too conspicuous to go unnoticed.

For more than two months now, the schools had to manage students without text books. Still, there is no certainty on when the students will receive their textbooks. Teachers are in a fix. They were instructed to follow the bridge course provided to them by the Directorate of School Education. The contents for the bridge course are mostly from the text books under the old system, teachers say, adding that it is almost a fortnight since they had completed teaching the contents of the bridge course.

Their opinion is divided over the quality of content in the bridge course. Teachers with experience are able to identify shortcomings. “Engaging students without any idea of subject contents is a herculean task. The uncertainty is causing enormous stress,” said a science teacher in a panchayat union middle school.

The problem is more acute for teachers handling classes for tenth standard students who need to be prepared for the public examination. Most schools are not prepared to take chances. “We could not wait endlessly. We have already commenced the portions under the samacheer kalvi system for our tenth standard students,” a matriculation school principal said.

One section of teachers is of the view that implementation of Samacheer Kalvi in tenth standard may not augur well for students who had undergone their ninth standard under the old system. “There has been no precedent of tenth standard being brought under a new system abruptly. Samacheer Kalvi can be extended to tenth standard students only after a year,” reasoned out Thangavel, a zoology teacher in a matriculation school. The distraction caused to the student community due to the stalemate is a major cause for worry for teachers. They are not sure if students will be able to focus their attention on studies after such a long hiatus. The students have already been forced to skip the mid-term tests that were due during July. Now, the apprehension of parents is whether or not the quarterly examinations for truncated portions will be conducted as per schedule during September.

Calculation of parents, teachers go awry over Samacheer Kalvi

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