TIRUCHY: In a rebuttal to Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi’s claim that the state’s school syllabus was uncompetitive and below par, school education minister Anbil Mahesh challenged the governor to engage with students preparing for competitive exams in state syllabus to understand the reality.
Governor Ravi had earlier sparked a controversy by giving a thumbs-down to on Tamil Nadu’s curriculum and asking students to think beyond it while addressing a gathering of students in Chennai on Sunday. The governor’s remark has drawn flak from various quarters including the minister and education activists from the state.
Addressing media persons in Tiruchy on Monday Minister Poyyamozhi asserted that the state syllabus is on par with the central board curriculum, citing his extensive experience of visiting libraries across Tamil Nadu. “The governor’s remark is contradictory to the opinions of competitive exam aspirants.
I have visited many libraries across the state over the years and interacted with students preparing for competitive exams. Both TNPSC and UPSC aspirants prefer our textbooks for preparation.” He also invited Governor Ravi to engage with students at any library in the state and himself to know their opinions.
On the Samagra Shiksha funds, the Minister disclosed that the Union Education Minister had offered to release funds due to Tamil Nadu within 30 minutes if the state agreed to implement the National Education Policy when MPs from Tamil Nadu met him recently. “However, we clearly told him that Tamil Nadu could not accept some NEP features, which include the three-language policy,” the minister elaborated.
Meanwhile, Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary of the State Platform for Common School System, in a statement released on Monday, urged the governor either to withdraw his remark on the state board syllabus or resign from the post.
He said, “The Governor’s remark would cause an inferiority complex among the students of the state board schools and their parents.” He also pointed out that many people who studied the state board syllabus have become scientists even working with the ISRO.
Problem is with teachers, says former AU V-C
Coimbatore: Reacting to Governor RN Ravi’s remarks, former V-C of Anna University E Balagurusamy on Monday said the problem is not with syllabus but quality of teaching and infrastructure in government schools. In a release, Balagurusamy said, “It is really unfortunate the governor made a wild statement that school syllabus in TN is bad and much inferior to that in other states. Syllabus was fully revised and upgraded to the level of CBSE syllabus in 2017-18. Excellent textbooks were readied. I was a member of a high-level panel which was in-charge of this.”