Lesson, title, name of the teacher, supplementary teaching aid used, additional notes, signature of the teacher — these categories are part of a ‘work done register' that teachers in all government schools will have to fill up.
The Directorate of School Education has sent out a detailed circular to school heads through its Chief Educational Officers, with a host of pointers on improving the quality of education this academic year.
“One of the most important points we are emphasising is the use of work registers in classrooms, where a teacher would have to fill up the details after every class in the register placed in class,” said a senior official of the School Education Department. The move is to bring in more transparency and to also ensure that the work is systematic and documented.
The register would aid inspections and give visiting officials a clear idea of the syllabus covered, he added.
According to a class X teacher of an Adi Dravidar Welfare School in the city, the practice of filling up ‘work done register' is already being followed in her school and has proved useful.
“We can make lesson plans more easily and it gives a sense of the work we do and that which is pending. Sometimes, we get the students themselves to fill the register and we just sign it. At the end of the day, the class teacher and the school head will sign,” she said.
According to another teacher handling higher classes at a Corporation school in north Chennai, it is possible that things such as filling a register become a ritual. “Teachers have tremendous pressure to deliver results. We are also roped in for several other activities. If teachers are given more space, it is possible to use tools like the register effectively,” he said, on condition of anonymity.
The circular also states that schools would have to provide a bridge course for students, particular those transitioning from primary to middle school. “While it is important to focus on the performance of class X and XII students, it is equally important to closely monitor the progress that students from class VI make,” the official said.
Teachers think that would be a good idea. “After the introduction of the Activity-Based Learning and Active Learning Methodology, it is important that we check whether students have achieved desirable learning levels,” said R. Geetha, a primary school teacher.
