Coaching sessions to get Class V and VIII students boards-ready

Each subject will be allotted a special class once a week before school hours

Schools in Coimbatore are having a rethink on advancing the dates of examinations. S. Siva Saravanan

With students of classes V and VIII all set to have board examinations at the end of the 2019-20 academic year in Tamil Nadu, a few education districts are mulling the idea of having special classes for students in government and government-aided schools to tackle the exam.

Several teachers had voiced their concern about the conduct of public exams for young students and questioned the need for Tamil Nadu to implement it so early on. The State Government, had, however said that they will ensure that no students will be detained for the first three years of the exam and will take a call on it later on.

“With students already being burdened with public exams as early as class V, what is the need to have special classes and coaching sessions? Instead of ensuring that the younger students have better skills and a strong foundation in the basics, the whole system becoming exam oriented,” said Patric Rhymend, General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Graduate Teachers Federation.

The preliminary plans drawn up to conduct coaching classes in an educational district indicate that each subject will be allotted a special class once a week from 8.30 a.m. to 9.15 a.m. before school hours. Apart from the classes, schools will be expected to hold a test in every subject once a week from 4.30 p.m. to 5.20 p.m. for 25 marks.

An amendment to the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 had called for a regular common examination to be conducted for classes V and VIII at the end of every academic year.

However, several teachers and academicians had raised questions about why Tamil Nadu is implementing this despite other states not having done so and said that it could lead to an increase in dropout rates among younger students.

“We have been opposing the conduct of board exams for students at such a young age, right from the start. There is undue mental stress inflicted on such young children and we want the education department to consider the adverse effects this exam fear will have on students,” said P.K. Ilamaran, President of the Tamil Nadu Teachers Association.