Teachers in government schools are having a tough time convincing students to join science groups. The number of students taking science has fallen by half in the last two years. Teachers say the new syllabus, which is supposed to improve the quality of education, has driven students away. A teacher from Dindigul said, “It is very difficult to encourage students to take up the bio-math group. Students are more keen on commerce and arts groups.”
The State government’s rule for schools in rural areas is to start a group if there are 15 students. “We generally admit at least 18 to 20 students in each group anticipating a few to change their mind. But now it is very difficult to even find that many students,” he said. This year, even students who had scored over 350 marks in Class 10 have not chosen science groups in his school.
“Normally, at least 25% of students would opt for polytechnic courses or industrial training courses. From the rest, a small group would choose science groups. But the trend has changed now,” he added. Government schools offer two science groups: one group has biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics. The group is a pure science group comprising physics, chemistry, botany and zoology, which enable students to opt for agricultural or veterinary science programmes.
The implementation of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for medical admission and the new syllabus have resulted in fall in the number of students taking science groups, teachers claimed.
“Until last year, there used to be 60 to 65 students in the biology group. Last year, it fell to 25 to 30 students. The students are finding the syllabus heavy and are now choosing the C-group, which has history, economics, commerce, and accountancy,” said T. Kaliyamurthy, a botany teacher from Perambalur.
District-wide trend
In his school, students who scored 480 in Class 10 kept away from the science group. Last year, 197 of the 198 students who appeared for Class 12 passed. “Before the new syllabus was introduced, in Plus 2, we would have 250 students; now it is 120 students,” he said.
The situation is same across the 32 districts, according to Mr. Kaliyamurthy, district president of the Tamil Nadu Post Graduate Teachers’ Association.
At a recent meeting the School Education department advised schools to combine classes with fewer students, bypassing the rule that a stream can be offered if there are 15 students in a rural school and 30 students in an urban school.
The Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Association has opposed the merger move. “Having 60 students in a class would hurt the students as the teacher will not be able to reach out to all,” said P.K. Ilamaran, president of the association.
But secondary school teachers say the government should have considered the impact of the syllabus change. “As many as seven lakh students study up to Class 12. For the sake of one lakh students who write NEET we have lost nearly three lakh students,” Mr. Kaliyamurthy rued.