All government and Chennai schools in the city will soon be asked to consolidate the marks students have obtained in the first term and send the report to the School Education Department.
The initiative is to help the Department get a sense of how students have scored after the introduction of Samacheer Kalvi syllabus this year.
While the Department has been getting feedback from various quarters, a detailed report with the actual marks that students scored will give a clearer picture, according to a senior official at the Directorate of School Education.
School teachers said that the first-term marks may give only a basic idea and considering the scores in various mid-term and term end examinations throughout the year, at the end of the academic year might give a more comprehensive picture. “In the first term we had many difficulties, right from confusion over syllabus and late start to a delay in receiving textbooks,” said a high school science teacher.
“This term (second) has been better, as we have spent more time on concepts. Students' scores are likely to go up in the second term and half-yearly examinations,” she said.
A number of teachers felt that thought students were very receptive to the style of the new textbooks, it may take some time for them to get used to application-based questions.
The Chennai Corporation has also been conducting review meetings with heads and teachers to discuss how students have performed so far. “It would be great if there are training programmes focussing on how to orient children to application-based questions. The textbooks have some good examples, but we might need more skills to get the idea across to students,” said a science teacher.
Students from different schools maintain that the new textbooks are fun, but scoring well in science and mathematics in the first term has not been too easy.
A. Ashfaqullah, a class VIII student going to a matriculation school in Purasawalkam, says English is the subject he finds easiest. “Science is a little difficult, but I will score higher in my second mid-term examinations starting on November 15,” he said. Many in his class, has scored “medium” marks in the first term, he said.
K. Ganapathy, a student of a Chennai School, finds Tamil easiest and science tough. “Many of us barely passed. We have to write more detailed answers than before. Even for a one-mark question, a detailed answer has to be given now,” he said.
A recent circular from the Director of School Education to heads of all schools urges teachers to maximise every working day and focus on completing the syllabus on time.
Teachers have also been asked to include practical sessions wherever possible.
