The first phone-in programme by Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S. Suresh Kumar on Saturday saw 38 people, a majority of whom were teachers from across the State, raise several problems ranging from staff shortage to lack of infrastructure in schools.
The difficulties faced by schools with only one teacher and the need to increase remuneration for guest teachers were brought up by callers.
The Minister was prompted to issue immediate directions on a question on re-starting summer camps in government schools.
One teacher expressed disappointment that the number of casual leaves had been reduced from 15 to 10 this year. Mr. Suresh Kumaracknowledged that it was a “genuine” concern and said he would discuss it with the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms.
A teacher from a rural area explained the difficulties she faced while uploading information on the Student Achievement Tracking System (SATS) software owing to the lack of Internet facilities.
She described the process as time consuming as she had to make multiple visits to cyber cafes located several kilometres away from her school. Mr. Suresh Kumar instructed officials to address the problem immediately.
On NEET and CET results
Keeping in mind the anxiety and stress that second year Pre-University students face, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education has decided not to announce the final examination results until the Common Entrance Test (CET) and the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) are conducted.
The examinations are gateways to professional courses such as engineering and medicine. This was decided by officials when a teacher raised the issue at the phone-in programme.
