Teachers against holding training sessions ahead of board exams

Back-to-back programmes leave them with very little time for students.

The Education Department has been hosting programmes to ensure that the revamped syllabus is implemented well.

A slew of initiatives taken by the School Education Department, which has resulted in scheduling of back-to-back training programmes ahead of the board exams, has left teachers of government and government-aided schools concerned.

Among the training programmes, graduate teachers who handle Classes VI to X are expected to attend a post National Achievement Survey (NAS) programme, which will begin for teachers in Chennai this week.

Besides, teachers are undergoing an ICT training programme in effectively using technology in classrooms for their subjects as well as spoken English training sessions.

“Teachers handling Class X, XI and XII in particular should be exempted from attending any training programmes from January to March in the academic year. Students who are going to take up board exams are dependent on their teachers for revisions and they should not be away from school at this critical time,” said P.K. Ilamaran, president, Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Association.

With a revamped syllabus, the Education Department has been hosting programmes to ensure that it is implemented well across schools. An official said teachers from senior classes, especially those handling students taking board exams, are not expected to attend training sessions. But the association president said this was overlooked by the different bodies that conduct these programmes. “Many teachers handling Class X end up having to attend these programmes,” Mr. Ilamaran said.

Change of schedule

Stating that they had represented the issue to the Education Department in the past, P. Patric Raymond from the Tamil Nadu Graduate Teachers’ Association, said every teacher ended up attending at least five days of training from January.

“With practical and revision exams going on for students, we are left with very less time to coach them. Since the first term generally has the most number of working days, we would prefer if these training programs are accommodated then or even at the beginning of the summer holidays for a week,” he added.