CHENNAI: After schools reopened in Tamil Nadu, teachers now face a new problem. With schools shut due to the pandemic, the learning loss incurred during this time has teachers worried on how to get students upto speed.
A government school mathematics teacher, Manjari Srinivasan, has been struggling to make her Class 10 students understand the chapters after schools have reopened. “It is very frustrating as the majority of the students are not able to solve even Class 8 problems. I am trying my best to bring them back on track, but they are simply not able to grasp it. Board exams will be in May, how can I complete the syllabus and prepare my students for it,” asked Srinivasan.
Teachers are perplexed as there is no clear solution in sight. With the students’ learning pushed so far back, it is nearly impossible to compensate for the loss with initiatives like Illam Thedi Kalvi or remedial classes, said teachers.
“Situation among private school students are better as they attended tuition classes. But in government school students learning has been severely affected. To my shock, many Class 10 students have forgotten to write Tamil words and are facing difficulty in framing sentences,” said Vaishali Muralidhar, teacher at a Saidapet Government School.
Stating there is so much work that bridge classes are not enough, Headmaster of a Coimbatore Government School Giridharan K said, “We don’t even have sufficient time to prepare them for board exams. Recovery of the learning loss seems to be a herculean task. We need a collective effort with a proper roadmap for that.”
Recently revision tests were conducted with an aim to prepare students for board exams, but many question papers were leaked. This shows the plight of our students, insecurity and desperation among them, said Patrick Raymond, general secretary of Tamil Nadu Graduate Teachers’ Federation.
“The State had plans to analyse the quality of students through these tests and hold remedial classes. But with the question paper leak, the test holds no value. Teachers alone cannot handle this, the State needs to take concrete policy decisions,” said Raymond.