TIRUNELVELI
While the State Education Policy to be formulated by the 12-member panel should ensure quality education accessible to all children, the students should be prepared right from Class 9 for cracking the competitive examinations by regularly conducting sessions along with the curriculum, said students, teachers and academicians.
Participating in the meeting organised here on Tuesday to submit their suggestions to the panel formed by the Tamil Nadu Government, students, teachers, academicians and representatives of voluntary organisations from Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari districts recorded their suggestions in the presence of panel chief Justice D. Murugesan, Collector V. Vishnu and Corporation Commissioner V. Sivakrishnamurthy.
Initiating the ‘suggestions session’, Plus Two student M. Arunachala Vadivu wanted to have male and female physical education teachers in all higher secondary schools and at least two field trips to enrich their knowledge in certain fields.
Another student Sankara Raman said all school buildings, classrooms, toilets, the path leading to the wash room should be designed in such a way so as to ensure accessibility to differently-abled students. He wanted reforms in the teaching tools for teaching visually challenged and hearing impaired students.
“While hearing impaired students can be effectively taught with more number of visuals, the visually challenged students can be provided with audio files besides Braille books,” he said.
Vinith, a teacher and father of mentally challenged boy, asked the members to start special schools for intellectually challenged children.
Prof. Balamurugan said 45 minutes should be dedicated everyday in all colleges for preparing the students for the competitive examinations. Some participants wanted this session to start from Class 9 as the students have to take Joint Entrance Examination and NEET.
Headmaster of panchayat union primary school, Pothukkudi, Sudalaimani urged the panel not to involve teachers in any work other than teaching as it was badly affecting the functioning of schools and students.
A good number of participants suggested to modifying the question pattern from asking to ‘direct questions’ to ‘analytical and application-oriented questions’ to improve the understanding of the students.
When suggestions were made to appoint qualified counsellors in every area to counsel the students of the schools in their area in the wake of alarming rise in the incidents of suicides, Justice Mr. Murugesan welcomed it. “At the same time, the parents and the teachers can effectively play the role of counsellors to guide the children,” he suggested.
Most of the participants wanted the panel to ensure the conduct of ‘moral sessions’ in the schools at least once a week to groom the younger generation with discipline, a waning quality among the students.
