In what could be seen as a direct appraisal, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education is writing to teachers across all government and aided high schools in an attempt to improve the performance of students in the next SSLC exam. It is in the process of sending 60,056 letters to teachers directly. While some are commendation — to those teachers whose students did well in the 2016 SSLC exam, the bulk comprises stern warnings.
The department has devised three letter formats depending on the average marks scored by the class in a particular subject. If it is above 80 per cent, the teacher will receive an appreciation letter. If it is between 50 per cent and 80 per cent, the teacher will be given a letter saying there is scope for improvement. However, if students have scored less than 50 per cent in the 2016 exam, teachers will be given letters stating that action will be initiated against them if the poor performance is repeated in the 2017 SSLC exam.
For instance, a mathematics teacher in Mandya district whose class had a pass percentage of 87.76 and an average score of 49.96 in mathematics has been given a warning letter.
Department officials said the aim of this initiative was to motivate teachers to get the best out of their students. But the move has received its fair share of criticism. Explaining the “unfairness” of this system, a teacher in Bengaluru questioned why the Mandya teacher should be given a warning letter when the average score in the State in mathematics was 54.
Issuing notice to a teacher like this can be extremely demoralising, said several teachers. “Many students do not even attend classes. Without addressing these gaps, how can teachers alone bring about a change?” said the Bengaluru teacher who did not want to be named.
Several teachers said the department also needs to address issues such as infrastructure and class strength.
Manjunath H.K., president of the Karnataka State High School Assistant Masters’ Association, said there was no objection to improving quality but there was also a need to find out reasons for poor performance school-wise rather than pin the blame only on teachers. “Many high schools mostly have guest teachers and issuing notice to subject teachers who are juggling classes may not be the solution,” he said. The department is also sending letters of appreciation — signed by the Chief Minister or the Minister in charge of the district concerned — to students who topped the 2016 SSLC exam.
