Many teachers, who have been asked to respond to the survey, are questioning its timing. (Representtaional)Balbharati, the state bureau of textbooks, has started an online survey to gauge the feasibility of the initiative to divide textbooks in three parts and attach blank pages for using them to take down notes from the upcoming academic year.
This comes almost two months after School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar announced the initiative aimed at reducing weight of schoolbags and providing free notebooks to children coming from underprivileged backgrounds. “We are contemplating dividing textbooks into three parts… If we add pages for writing and attach them to the textbook, then it will be very convenient. They (students) can refer to it and take notes and duplication will be avoided. This will help reduce the weight of bags,” he had said.
Many teachers, who have been asked to respond to the survey, are questioning its timing. They claimed that feasibility checks should have been prioritised before the announcement of the initiative. The survey, which clarifies that it is aimed at gauging the need for the initiative, asks several questions. They vary from class and subject-wise information on notebooks, how many pages are required, is it to take notes or for other studies, students from which class do take notes in classroom during a lesson to even asking if students would really use blank pages to take notes.
“What is the point of asking for all this information after the minister has already declared the initiative.
Ideally, this information should have been gathered before making the announcement, which has been criticised by many,” said a teacher from a government school. Teachers have criticised the initiative for several reasons. They have pointed out that blank pages in textbooks are inadequate to replace notebooks required in any class. Many catering to children coming from underprivileged backgrounds had also said that this will stop students from reusing textbooks of previous classes, which is a common practice to avoid expenditure.
“Even as a few teachers have tried giving their opinion on the survey link, it appears that the responses are not recorded…This online survey is a farce,” said Mahendra Ganpule, state spokesperson for school principals’ association.