Zero enrolment, alumni association initiative takes a hit in Kovai
COIMBATORE: In a major setback for the school education department’s initiative to create alumni forums, as many as 598 of 1114 panchayat union primary and middle schools in Coimbatore reported zero enrollments of alumni allegedly due to the mandatory entry of Aadhaar details among other reasons.
As per the official data possessed by TNIE, in a bid to strengthen alumni association activities at primary and middle schools, the school education department asked government school headmasters to register at least 25 people who studied in their schools on the department’s website by July 20. However, only 20 schools have achieved the target in Coimbatore and the highest among these is 32 alumni enrolled at the panchayat union middle school at Mandrampalyam in Kinathukadavu block.
“To enroll an alumnus in the portal, we have to upload details like the person’s name, address, age, gender, date of birth, Aadhaar number, occupation, school completing year etc, which is very time-consuming. We take at least 15 minutes to enter the details of one person. Also, many hesitate to share Aadhaar details, which is mandatory for successfully enrolling their name,” said the headmaster of a panchayat union middle school at Perur block in Coimbatore.
When contacted, a headmaster from Valparai, which is a hill station, told TNIE, “All alumni, except a few, have migrated to plains and it is difficult to source their details.” Tamil Nadu Primary Schools Teachers’ Federation district secretary A Thangabasu told TNIE, “Headmasters are burdened with administrative works such as battery test, health and well being, schemes distribution entry, library shelf creation and books assign, teachers leave approval and online attendance. Among these works, how is it possible to concentrate on alumni registration?”
Speaking to TNIE, Education Development Committee coordinator K Leninbarathi said, “The role of alumni associations in the development of a school is huge and there is no different opinion in strengthening them. However, it should not be an additional burden for the headmaster and teachers as they impart the education to the students.”
He stressed that the mandatory entry of the Aadhaar number of the alumni is unwanted and the enrollment process should be simplified. Repeated attempts to reach the district educational officer for primary (Pollachi) A Valliyammal and Samagra Shiksha State Project Officer M Aarthi went in vain.
When asked about it, a top officer from the Directorate of Elementary Education told TNIE, “We did not set a deadline for the headmasters to complete the work, but just instructed to complete the work as soon as possible.”