Page 20 - EW April 2023

Education News

of Education Report) is reporting the employment of these teachers
severely deflated learning outcomes will be endangered.”
in rural primaries countrywide, has Shivani Chaturvedi (Chennai)
been welcomed by educationists
statewide. KARNATAKA
However, the highlight of the
budget session of the legislative Assessment & exams
assembly was the government’s
announcement that all schools confusion
hitherto functioning under various
departments such as Adi Dravidar fter a three-month legal dra-
and Tribal Welfare, Backward Class, ma which went right up to the
Most Backward Class and Denotified ASupreme Court, the Karna-
Communities, the Hindu Religious taka Secondary Examination and As-
and Charitable Endowments and the sessment Board (KSEAB) commenced
forest department will be brought ‘annual assessments’ on March 27 for
under the supervision of the educa- 1.9 million class V and VIII students
tion ministry’s Department of School Thiaga Rajan: QEFA objective in 56,157 KSEAB-affiliated schools
Education & Literacy. statewide.
“The objective is to achieve the Welfare departments. Since December 13 last year, when
goal of social justice in the field of “All these special schools are the state’s education ministry issued
education, to improve the quality of established near the dwelling places a circular announcing “annual assess-
schools functioning under various of these communities. If the schools ments” in March for all class V and VIII
departments, and to ensure that all are closed and merged with other students of state board schools, there’s
students are provided with quality schools, will children get easy access? been controversy and uncertainty over
education,” said finance minister And since most of these children are this proposal. Despite the circular de-
Palanivel Thiaga Rajan in his first generation learners, will they claring the purpose of the ‘assessment’
budget speech. Moreover, the minis- benefit from equal treatment? More- is to “derive measurable learning out-
ter added that the service conditions over, government schools themselves comes” of children and emphasising
and benefits of teachers and staff, don’t have sufficient number of that no child will be failed/detained,
presently working in these schools teachers. In July last year, 39,000 parents and schools associations have
will be protected. government schools had vacancies equated it with exams and opposed it,
ccording to government for 13,000 teachers. All this will ad- citing inadequate time for students to
insiders, this clustering of all versely impact the teaching-learning prepare and therefore causing stress
Aschools hitherto operated by process for tribal children,” says to young children.
various bodies is the outcome of re- Prince Gajendra Babu, general On the other hand, education of-
quests to the government to operate secretary of the State Platform for ficials insist that assessing children’s
and maintain Adi Dravidar Welfare Common School System, Tamil learning outcomes periodically is in
Schools (which serve children of Nadu. line with recommendations made in
8 million tribals across the state) Adds M. Nagarajan, general the National Education Policy (NEP)
under the school education depart- secretary, Madurai Kamaraj, Manon- 2020. Moreover, the circular high-
ment. maniam Sundaranar, Mother Teresa, lighted that s.16 of the landmark Right
Although this initiative will result and Alagappa University Teachers’ of Children to Free and Compulsory
in tighter management and egalitar- Association: “By bringing schools Education (RTE) Act 2009, which
ian education for tribal children, run by various departments under initially prohibited examinations and
some educationists believe it will be one umbrella, the purpose of estab- mandated compulsory yearly promo-
detrimental to students as well as lishing those schools to provide ap- tion of classes I-VIII children, was
teachers of such schools. Currently, propriate differentiated learning will amended by the BJP government at
1.2 lakh students are enrolled in be defeated. Even the recruitment the Centre in 2019 to allow exams and
1,466 Adi Dravidar schools across process of teachers will be adversely detention of students who fail twice.
the state. In addition, nearly 30,000 affected. The Kallar Reclamation However they stress that no student
students are enrolled in 300 Kal- Schools established by the British in will be detained following assessment.
lar Reclamation Schools run by 1921 gave priority to teachers belong- In January, the Registered Unaided
Backward Classes, Most Backward ing to the most backward Kallar Private Schools Association (RUPSA),
Classes and Denotified Communities community. By merging the schools which has 13,000 member schools,

20 EDUCATIONWORLD APRIL 2023