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Education News

unqualified teachers being appointed TAMIL NADU Poyyamozhi, Tamil Nadu’s school
through bribery and corruption. But, education minister announced the
over 2022-24 TET exams were held Ill-advised politics state government’s intent to adhere
under strict vigilance as a result of to s.16 on the ground that the Central
which since 2022, 46,000 teach- amil nadu has reaffirmed its government’s Gazette notification is a
ers have been appointed with the commitment to the no-de- “stumbling block” that would adverse-
approval of the Calcutta high court. Ttention policy, ensuring that ly affect children from socio-econom-
As a result, the state’s Pupil Teacher children in classes I-VIII in primary/ ically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Ratio (PTR) in government schools elementary schools statewide are pro- According to Poyyamozhi, children
which had risen to an alarming 59:1 moted to the next grade regardless of from EWS (economically weaker sec-
has improved to 31:1 within the ideal academic performance. This decision tions) are already confronted with
range of 35:1 prescribed by the Right of the state government refutes the inadequate access to quality educa-
of Children for Free & Compulsory Central government’s recent amend- tion, socio-economic hardships, and
Education (RTE) Act, 2009. ment of the Right of Children to Free limited resources. Detaining students
evertheless, academics in and Compulsory Education (RTE) from marginalised communities at
NKolkata rue the neglect of K-12 Act, 2009, which reintroduced exams young age could discourage them from
education during the rule of the for children in classes V and VIII of continuing their education, and result
Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress all government and CBSE-affiliated in a large number of them dropping
party and particularly the lost learn- schools, and their detention, in the out of school.
ing during the prolonged pandemic same class if they fail a re-examina- Poyyamozhi also reiterated that
lockdown. tion. under the Constitution, education is a
“ASER 2024 exposes the govern- Concurrent List subject
ment’s utter failure in improving with both the Centre and
foundational learning for school- states competent to legis-
children in Bengal. Despite years of late on it, and that the TN
promises, nearly 70 percent of stu- government has already
dents still struggle with basic reading opted out of the National
and math, a damning indictment of Education Policy (NEP)
the state’s education system. The 2020. Therefore the
marginal improvements in learning Central government’s
outcomes reported by ASER 2024 Gazette notification has
—mere percentage points — offer no impact on TN’s 37,311
no real solace, because the overall state government schools
picture remains grim. Instead of with an aggregate enrol-
celebrating incremental gains, the ment of 5.47 million stu-
government must take accountability dents.
for this crisis and implement urgent, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi: dismaying decision The decision of the
systemic reforms. Without immedi- DMK government to stick
ate intervention, an entire genera- The back story of this decision to this ill-considered woke mandate
tion risks being left behind due to is that on December 23, the Central to refrain from independently testing
government negligence,” warns government amended RTE Act Rules children in classes I-VIII and promote
Prof. Pabitra Sarkar, former under a Gazette of India notification them routinely, has dismayed respect-
vice chancellor of Rabindra Bharati re-introducing board exams for chil- ed educationists in the state. Particu-
University and former vice chairman dren in classes V and VIII. larly, since the experience of the past
of the West Bengal State Council of This notification over-ruled s.30 14 years after the RTE Act became op-
Higher Education. of the RTE Act which states “no child erational in 2010. The Annual Status
A sad requiem for a state that was shall be required to pass any Board of Education Report (ASER) 2023 of
the epicentre of the Bengal Renais- exam until completion of elementary the highly respected Pratham Educa-
sance of the 18th-20th centuries education”. It also over-rules s.16 of tion Foundation, which in a departure
driven by giant intellectual social the Act which states “no child admit- from usual practice, tested the learn-
reformers including Raja Rammohan ted in a school shall be held back in ing outcomes of a nationally repre-
Roy, Satyendra Bose and Rabindra- any class or expelled from school till sentative sample of teens in the 14-18
nath Tagore, the latter Asia’s first the completion of elementary educa- age group, reported alarming lack of
Nobel laureate. tion”. academic and related competencies
Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata) Shortly thereafter, Anbil Mahesh among them.

20 EDUCATIONWORLD FEBRUARY 2025