The Department of School Education officials in Coimbatore have begun enforcing curbs on the number of sections that schools can open for each class.
This follows a circular issued last week by the Director of Matriculation Schools directing the schools to restrict the number of sections in each class to four, as per the Code of Regulation for Matriculation Schools formulated in 1990.
Chief Education Officer A. Gnanagowri told The Hindu here on Tuesday that schools must seek the permission of the Department of School Education to open beyond four sections per class.
Team visit
A team would visit the school and ascertain the infrastructure. The permission must be obtained before the academic year began.
So far, no school in the city had approached the Department seeking permission to open additional sections.
The Education officials have been asked to conduct inspections to ensure schools were complying with the norms, she said.
These norms were not new and were already in force.
They are being strictly enforced from the current academic year with a view to ensure student’s safety, she said.
As mandated by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, schools must have teacher-pupil ratio of 1:30 in primary classes (I to V) and in the upper primary classes (VI to VIII), 1:35. In the classes IX to XII, which are not covered under the RTE Act, schools could have up to 40 students per section, Ms. Gnanagowri said.
Association
The Tamil Nadu Nursery, Primary, Matriculation and Higher Secondary Schools Welfare Association General Secretary G. Krishnaraj said that these circulars ought to have been given before the academic year began.
Enforcing these norms now will only affect the students and parents.
The Government must give the schools at least one year to implement this norm, he added.
