CHENNAI: As the DMK government heads for the second state budget, Tamil Nadu awaits solutions for a plethora of issues dogging the education sector. The issue of inclusion of students from government-aided schools in various state-sponsored schemes, the new 5+3+3+4 system proposed by New Delhi, and the introduction of model schools may need to undergo an urgent review in the post-pandemic era.
Education activists believe there should be more clarity on the policy-based decisions that have an impact on the students in the state. The state education policy which is expected to give some clarity on the burning issues is likely to be delayed, they said.
“Many of the students who study in government-aided schools, especially where the medium of instruction is Tamil, are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Excluding them from schemes like 7.5% reservation provided to the government school students in the medical seats and `1,000 per month provided to girl children joining higher education is an injustice,” said Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary, State Platform for Common School System.
Several teachers have raised concerns over the concept of model schools. “While the state is repeatedly voicing its views against entrance examinations like NEET, it is unfair to conduct an assessment to choose the children for model schools,” said a government school teacher from Dindigul. According to the school education department officials, works are underway to assess schools and build classrooms.
“In the last budget, it was announced that 18,000 classrooms would be built to improve the infrastructure of the schools under the Perasiriyar Anbazhagan School Development Scheme. While some buildings were inaugurated in districts like Vellore, we are also examining the need in many others. It will be done over the course of the next five years,” said an official.
Literary festivals and book fairs were conducted in various districts to improve the reading habit among youngsters. “While initiatives like smart classrooms and hi-tech labs are welcome, the government should also concentrate on ensuring basic facilities like toilet and drinking water facilities in all schools, especially in rural areas,” said Sudar Natraj, an activist working with tribal children in Erode district.
On the higher education front, academicians believe the state budget needs to focus on the financial condition of the state universities. It is high time the government intervened to resolve the issue.
“It is the time when state universities should focus on strengthening their research activities.
Unfortunately, our universities do not have enough funds for it as they are struggling to meet their day-to-day expenses. We need a specific strategy and adequate allocation of funds in the budget to solve the problem,” said E Balagurusamy, former vice chancellor of Anna University.
Besides, there is a need to set up new state universities to ensure that students from economically backward sections get the opportunity to pursue higher education. TN is a forerunner in the education sector in the country with the highest gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education. “The state government had announced a `1,000 scheme for government school girl students in the last budget to encourage them to pursue higher education, but if we do not have adequate state universities to accommodate them. We have only 13 state universities and not a single new university has come up in the last five years,” said the principal of a government college in Chennai.
Significant work has been done under the Naan Mudhalvan Scheme, announced by the state government in last budget with an aim to upskill students in the higher education sector, in the first year itself. According to higher education department officials, in the last one year over 15 lakh students from engineering colleges, polytechnic colleges and Arts and Science colleges have been on-boarded to undergo training for various skill development courses.