Bengaluru| Extra classes may not address learning deficit
A large number of school teachers and anganwadi workers have been deployed as booth-level officers (BLOs) for Special Intensive Revision of voters’ list from March till August 17. The role of BLOs will continue till October 22, till the final stage of claims and objections ends, said an official with the Election Commission of India (ECI).
For about half a year, the remaining teaching staff have been struggling to finish the syllabi, being forced to teach subjects that are not their forte. A government schoolteacher on SIR duty said she missed the classroom. “I keep thinking of my students. I should be teaching them right now instead of doing this grunt work,” she said. She said her fellow teachers are burdened with greater workload.
A Kannada teacher, who had been a BLO earlier, said she was one of the very few from her school who had not been deputed on SIR duty. Now she has been entrusted with more classes which she is not fully comfortable with.
Manjula A, after her SIR stint, has resumed her role as teacher at an anganwadi in Yelahanka. “In my absence, some helpers had stepped in, so the children did not suffer. But many anganwadis were not that fortunate,” she said.
Commissioner for School Education Vikas Kishor Suralkar said the government is aware of the problem. “About 20 per cent of teachers are still on SIR duty. There has been an impact on overall teaching at government schools, and we have stationed guest teachers to remedy the situation,” he said.
Suralkar said that at many schools, extra classes are being conducted to finish the syllabi. “Extra classes will be held once the regular teachers are back as well. We are also exploring the possibility of conducting school days (and classes) on holidays, if need be,” he said.
Bengaluru-based educationist Prof. Niranjanaradhya VP, principal convener at the People’s Alliance for Fundamental Right to Education (PAFRE), said underprivileged children were the worst-affected. “Instead of teachers, lakhs of unemployed youth enrolled in the Yuva Nidhi scheme should have been deployed on SIR duty,” he said.
He is against the suggestion of holding classes on holidays. “There is no way that six months’ lost classes can be recovered during holidays. Moreover, the issue is not perfunctory completion of syllabi, but actual absorption of education, which will not be possible when neither the students nor teachers have the mental capacity to conduct lessons. They cannot hold teachers at gunpoint for extra work,” he said.
– Anubhab Roy
System indifferent to plight of parents, students
The impact of teachers being deployed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is felt more acutely in the urban wards of Bengaluru than in panchayats. While very few teachers are assigned SIR duty in the same ward, most of them have to travel across the city to a different area. While teachers who are on SIR duty in the same ward attend schools to teach, most of them rely on guest teachers.
A parent from Kengeri ward, Bengaluru West, said, “My daughter was studying in a Kannada-medium school until last year. She is now in Class 5. The government introduced bilingual education from classes 1-5 this year, but there are no teachers to help her. The school has over 350 students, and is managed by one headmaster (HM) and three guest teachers.”
A student at a government school in Kaval Byrasandra, Bengaluru North, said lesson-based assessments (LBA) are not conducted periodically. “Classes are combined and generic topics taught rather than prescribed lessons. We had only one LBA test by a guest teacher until now,” he said.
A high school student in Bengaluru West said a few lessons were covered by an NGO. “Important topics in Science and English were taught by a few volunteers from an NGO. The government does not permit it, but it was a decision by the HM to make sure we do not suffer because of the absence of teachers,” he said.
A parent whose child studies in JP Nagar Government High School, Bengaluru South, approached Block Education Officers (BEOs). “I was told the problem exists across all government schools and we must comply until the SIR is complete,” he said.
Things are, however, looking up at the Government School in Kannur, Bengaluru North. “The guest teacher is working hard and making sure the students learn. My kids find the teacher more responsive and dedicated. Unfortunately, they are here on contract until the appointed teachers return,” said Mahendra, parent of a student in Class 7.
– Anshuman U Shastry
Gadag| Spare teachers from SIR role, plead parents
Many teachers are finding it tough to do justice to their primary role while engaged in the SIR process.
Three days ago, students at a government school at Laxmeshwar in Gadag district were left to fend for themselves, with both teachers drafted for SIR. The school was locked and the parents complained. Later, the Deputy Director of Public Instruction stepped in and classes resumed from Thursday.
Many parents say teachers are not able to concentrate due to SIR, and they are worried about their children’s learning outcomes.
Sharat Kapparad, a parent from Laxmeshwar, said, “We request the state government to choose other government employees for such roles since teachers’ absence is affecting children’s learning.”
An official from the district education department, however, said teachers have been managing SIR as well as school tasks.
– Raghottam Koppar
Hubballi| Extra-curricular activities getting short shrift
Only 126 teachers are deployed as BLOs in Dharwad district, and a majority of them are physical education (PE) and craft teachers. Subject teachers who were engaged in the SIR application phase have resumed their duties.
Education experts said extra-curricular activities should not get short shrift. Though the impact is not immediately visible, it will harm students’ development. “State and Central governments are encouraging sports and other activities but one should know that all such things commence from the school itself,” said the expert.
A student said he has not had any issues as craft and PE periods are taken by other subject teachers. “In a week, we have two such classes. A few students have been busy completing their pending assignments.” Another student said school would become dull without PE and craft periods.
– Mallikarjun Hiremath
Vijayapura| Back to school after BLO break
Though teachers have completed their main work as BLOs, classes were affected during the two months they were deployed on SIR duty. Many teachers who did not wish to be identified said that because of their busy schedule, they had no time to visit schools to complete the syllabus.
“Normally, teachers are deployed on election or caste survey duties which are completed within a few days. The absence of teachers does not significantly affect classes. But during SIR, teachers who were deployed as BLOs remained out of class for almost two months. Their duty has still not ended and their two-month stint as BLOs has certainly affected studies,” the teachers said.
They also said the excess duty has taken a toll on their health and many have developed lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and BP.
Meanwhile, Zilla Parishad CEO Rishi Anand, who admitted that classes have been affected, said they are making arrangements to cover it.“Firstly, only primary school teachers were appointed and not high school, as this is a critical time for students. Secondly, in a majority of schools, other teachers covered the syllabus for teachers who were deputed as BLOs,” he said.
“Headmasters have taken help from other subject teachers to cover the syllabus. Still, as major SIR work is over and teachers are back in schools, they will be given extra periods to complete the syllabus. Since we have several months left for the final exams, we will certainly cover the missed syllabus,” he said.
– Firoz Rozindar
Mangaluru| Staff shortage disrupts academic calendar
With BLO duties being extended till the final stage, the ongoing SIR has resulted in severe staff shortage and disrupted education as over 300 teachers having been pulled out of classrooms.
A teacher who is working as a BLO in Bantwal said the syllabus for formative assessment 2 (FA2) should have been completed by July-end but teachers have not completed it yet. “Some of the teachers complete BLO duty and return to school to take up classes.
It is causing them physical and mental exhaustion. It is also a burden on the remaining teachers to take up classes on behalf of teachers on SIR duty, and students are also finding it difficult to pick up as it is a new syllabus. In Dakshina Kannada, there were many rain holidays, further affecting classes. First of all, there is a severe shortage of teachers in government schools, and now SIR duty has deteriorated school education with almost half of this year’s academic activities getting stalled or disrupted,” she said.
Another teacher said there is no cooperation from other teachers in taking up classes, leaving the teacher on BLO duty helpless. An officer from the education department said that in a school in Bantwal having 114 students, three of four teachers have been assigned SIR duty, putting a burden on other teachers.
Dakshina Kannada DDPI GS Shashidhar said 381 government schoolteachers have been engaged in SIR duty in the district and the department is ensuring that portions of the syllabus are completed with the existing teachers.
– Divya Cutinho
Shivamogga| Teachers unhappy with dual role
More than 500 teachers have been on SIR duty in the district. Teachers who were deployed in rural areas were facing difficulties with respect to classes and completing the syllabus.
“We have to complete portions before the mid-term examinations or before Dasara vacations. In our school, no other teacher can handle my subject. Sometimes we were clueless whether to finish portions or finish SIR work,” said a teacher working in a village in Sorab taluk.
Ramesh Naik, Block Education Officer, Shivamogga taluk, said: “We assigned SIR work to schools with more number of teachers. Most of their academic work was handled by other teachers. But to some extent it has affected academic activities in schools,” he said.
A high school teacher told TNIE it is very difficult for women to work as BLOs. They should deploy young teachers and not middle-aged and senior people, she added.
“Our services have always been utilised in elections. So this has made the authorities depute teachers for any kind of work related to elections. This has to be stopped. As it is, teachers have many responsibilities, including supervision of mid-day meals,” said some teachers in rural areas of Sagar and Thirthahalli taluks.
–Ramachandra Gunari