CHENNAI: School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Wednesday said the school education department will soon conduct an assessment covering 10 lakh students across the state and release its results to show the educational standards of Tamil Nadu.
He stated that Governor R N Ravi and BJP state president K Annamalai have been using surveys such as the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) to claim that the standards of education in Tamil Nadu have fallen behind Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. However, this new survey will shed light on the actual conditions, he said.
Speaking to reporters after inaugurating a state-level science exhibition under the Vanavil Mandram scheme at the Anna Centenary Library, Minister Poyyamozhi said that in states like Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, the ASER survey, conducted by the Pratham Foundation, is carried out by the respective District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs).
“In Tamil Nadu, it is conducted by 25 organisations that are not well-known. ASER is a household survey and does not even visit schools,” he said, raising questions regarding the credibility of the survey.
Meanwhile, representatives of the Pratham Foundation in TN stated that in 2018, they collaborated with DIETs to conduct the survey in 12 districts in the state.
“The survey is carried out among DTEd students, however, due to a shortage of students in DIETs across many districts, we were unable to collaborate with them. We are now considering BEd students for the next survey,” said a representative.
He also noted that the volunteers are trained by the Pratham Foundation before conducting the survey and emphasised that the collaboration would not impact the results.
Addressing the non-release of the Samagra Shiksha (SS) scheme funds, the minister said he had released data on funds allocated to each state.
“BJP state president K Annamalai, instead of arguing with us, should speak to BJP leaders at the centre and ensure that TN receives its due, as it affects 40 lakh students in the state. The non-release of funds has led to a financial crunch, impacting several schemes,” he said.
He further accused Annamalai of supporting “anti-Tamil and anti-student policies” of the union government as he belongs to the party instead of being productive and sensible. Talking about the PM-SHRI and Samagra Shiksha schemes, Minister Poyyamozhi said the two are not connected.
“Samagra Shiksha has been implemented since 2018. Suddenly, they are linking it with PM-SHRI from 2023. The committee we formed to review the PM-SHRI scheme has clearly stated that it introduces the three-language policy, which goes against the existing policy in TN,” he said, adding Annamalai should file an RTI application to find out how the department utilised the Rs 44,000 crore allocated in the state budget.
The minister also stated that the department will release a report in March detailing the strict actions taken against more than 230 teachers accused of sexually harassing students over the past decade. The department has also urged students to call the 14417 helpline to report any such incidents.