‘Course reduction depends on school reopening dates’

CHENNAI: Syllabus for the academic year 2020-21 is likely to be shortened. However, there is no clarity on how and when this reduction would be carried out as reopening of schools is out of sight, say officials from school education department. “While there are plans to reduce the syllabus, any decision on it can be taken only after the decision on reopening of schools is made,” said a senior official from the department. He added that outbreaks were observed in other States after schools were reopened.

“We will be putting the children and their families at risk. We cannot have a fixed plan for syllabus reduction as the number of working hours will depend on the reopening date,” the official maintained. Schools remain shut since March. As classes are held online and other broadcast platforms, educational institutions are struggling to meet curriculum deadlines.

Teachers from both government and private schools are insisting on reduction of syllabus for this academic year. While students from government and aided schools are largely dependent on platforms like Kalvi TV, they have little to no opportunity to interact with teachers. “We encourage all students to watch Kalvi TV and message their doubts to us.

Only about 15 per cent of the students, that too, those from class 7 and above seek clarifications. Students in class 10 and above reach out to us more regularly as they are concerned about public exams,” said the headmaster of a government-run school in Tiruvallur. PK Ilamaran, leader of the Tamil Nadu Government Teachers’ Association told Express that ideally the government should cut down at least 40 per cent of the syllabus. “Students and teachers, will find it helpful if the government elaborates on the parts of syllabus that will be removed,” he said.

In his letter to the School Education Minister last week, KR Nandakumar, leader of the Tamil Nadu Matriculation, Higher Secondary, and CBSE Schools Association, said that schools have shut down for seven months and teachers are working overtime to compensate for the lost time. Speaking to Express, an official from State Council for Education Research and Training said that a team is working on syllabus reduction. The council is the nodal body for academic affairs. “We are likely to retain important parts of most lessons and remove supplementary information.”