CHENNAI: To improve the English skills of students in Classes 6 to 9 at corporation schools, the civic body's education department has asked schools to conduct morning meetings in English on Wednesdays. Officials have also started to review the progress every week.
Of the 30,782 students in Classes 6 to 9 in corporation schools, only 8,037 are comfortable conversing in English, as per a recent review by the education department, officials said. "The review only assessed competency in speaking the language. We have asked teachers to understand each student's problems and help them," said an official, adding reports on the weekly reviews will be submitted to the corporation commissioner.
To reduce the staff shortage in schools, the corporation council recently allowed school management committees to appoint temporary teachers. The civic body is also planning to conduct counselling for these teachers, especially on handling language subjects.
This apart, the corporation is working to bring back students who dropped out after the pandemic. "Around 6,000 students are out of school. We have asked teachers to ensure students have an attendance of more than 90%, said an official.