VIJAYAWADA: Taking a cue from private schools, municipal schools across the State are conducting ‘study hours’ for SSC students every day. The teachers are given a target to aim for 10/10 GPA for all the students under the Spark 10/10 programme. The working hours of these schools are no less than that of private schools — from 8 am to 8 pm.
The students from private schools have weekly tests and monthly assessment tests. Now, even the government schools have joined the path of private schools, putting more stress on the students over marks and grades.
As part of the Spark programme, all the schools are given a schedule from July 2018 to conduct a cycle of exams every month. Apart from these tests, the students are also made to sit in the school from 8 am to 8 pm, almost five hours more than the actual school hours. Even girl students are made to stay at school until 8 pm. “We have been given a schedule by the higher officials. The instruction is to achieve 10/10 GPA for maximum number of students. Through these special classes, all the students, including girls, are made to sit in the school from 8 am to 8 pm. However, we are asking the parents to come and take the students back home. If parents are unable to come, we are sending students in groups. We are also providing evening snacks to the students,” said Ravi Kumar, headmaster of Municipal High School in Patamata.
V Padma, a parent, says, “It is good that they are conducting special classes for achieving better grades. However, spending long hours at school will put more stress on the students. Soon after coming home at 8 pm, they hardly eat anything and straightway go to bed. If the classes are up to 6 pm, they would get time to relax for a while and then study for some time. Twelve hours of study at a stretch every day is quite hectic and stressful for the students.”
Meanwhile, the Director of Municipal Administration on Tuesday issued a circular to all the municipal schools stating that all students must attend their respective schools soon after completion of their examination for preparing for the next one.
Also, the teachers were also asked to help the students in achieving their goal. As per the circular, girl students will have to stay at the school until 6.30 pm and the boys up to 8 pm. During the period, midday meals and evening snacks will be provided.
The teachers of municipal schools have come out against the circular, demanding that the officials withdraw it.Speaking to TNIE, S Rama Krishna, president of Municipal School Teachers Federation, said, “We have been working for several hours after the school timings for many months, which is putting more stress on us. It is sad that the officials are still instructing us to work even on the examination days. They could have requested us to work rather than issuing the circular.”
Circular to municipal schools
Director of Municipal Administration on Tuesday issued a circular to all the municipal schools stating that all students must attend schools soon after examination for preparing for the next.