CHENNAI: Just hours after Tamil Nadu’s Director of School Education issued a circular mandating that seating arrangement in classrooms can be in the form of a semi-circle, resembling the Tamil letter Pa ( ), the directive was put on hold as it received a wave of criticism, especially on social media, from educationists, health experts, and political leaders.
The seating arrangement was intended to eliminate the stigma of ‘backbenchers’ and promote equality among students.
The circular issued by S Kannappan, Director of School Education, said, “Engagement begins with arrangement, the ‘Pa’ shape opens the floor for open minds.” It said the arrangement would enhance interaction, ensure that all students have a clear view of the blackboard and teacher, and allow teachers to monitor all students effectively, besides ensuring students’ comfort.
However, the proposal sparked immediate reaction over its practicality and health implications with many questioning whether any consultations were held with stakeholders concerned before issuing the instructions.
New arrangement may affect kids’ health
“Students on the sides will be forced to turn their necks for hours, five days a week. This can lead to 50% of students developing serious neck-related issues, and 15% may face very serious issues,” a neurosurgeon posted on X.
He also warned of visual strain, especially for students who wear glasses, as they would be forced to look through the periphery of their lenses rather than the optic centre, causing further eye discomfort and headaches. The circular issued by the Director of School Education had asked all Chief Educational Officers in every district to ensure the new seating arrangement in all classrooms, taking into account the number of students and the size of the classrooms.
Although the arrangement was supposed to be implemented depending on each classroom’s size as per the circular, many pointed out that government and government-aided schools have longer classrooms, unlike the wider rooms needed to accommodate seating arrangements in ‘Pa’ shape. Moreover, classrooms with a large number of students will face difficulty even with the new arrangement.
The inspiration behind the move came after some schools in Kerala voluntarily adopted similar seating arrangements, inspired by the Malayalam film Sthanarthi Sreekuttan.
Reacting to the proposal, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami slammed the state government of copying ideas from films without any proper study. “Stop playing with students’ health for publicity,” he posted on X. BJP state secretary SG Suryah, too, criticised the move. The director confirmed to TNIE that the circular has been put on hold. “After health concerns were raised, we are currently discussing whether to implement it. A final decision will be taken after detailed discussions next week,” he said.
(With inputs from Subashini Vijayakumar)