Coimbatore: A day after the state government announced reopening of schools for Class IX and XI students, teachers on Monday urged the government to consider conducting classes on a rotational basis. Citing insufficient infrastructure and teaching faculty in many schools, they said it was not possible to ensure smooth functioning of schools with 25 students per class.
S Arunan, state president, Tamil Nadu Government Employees Teachers’ Welfare Federation, said the government had strictly directed the schools to accommodate only 25 students in a class to ensure social distancing when schools were reopened for Class X and XII students in January. “The government has now announced that Class IX and XI students could also visit schools from February 8. Many schools, especially the government ones, do not have sufficient classrooms to accommodate all the students as per the standard operating procedure.”
Pointing out that the situation would be unmanageable in higher secondary schools, he said the government should allow the schools to conduct classes either on alternative days or in two (morning and evening) sessions a day.
T Arulanantham, state treasurer, Tamil Nadu High and Higher Secondary School Government Teachers’ Association, said the workload of teachers would also go up. “When schools were functioning normally, a teacher used to engage about 28 periods five days a week. Now that only 25 students are allowed to sit in a class, each class is considered a different section and timetable is prepared accordingly. Just for Class X, a teacher is taking about 30 to 33 classes a week now.”
If classes were to begin for Class IX and XI students, he said, the situation would become unmanageable for teachers, who are already handling more than a subject in some schools. “Many teacher posts are yet to be filled as the school education department has not conducted counselling this year.”
Arulanantham also suggested conducting classes on a rotational basis. “But this might also push 25% of students, who had no access to any electronic gadgets and could not study during the lockdown, to a difficult situation as they have only limited time to prepare for board examinations.”