Page 19 - EducationWorld January 2021

who passed TET way back in 2014, adjudication, favouritism and non-
during January 10-17, has raised her merit appointments and obtain stay
credibility. Formal notice has also orders. Between October 5-25 2019,
been given that the third TET will 12,000 complaints were submitted
be held in offline mode on January before WBCSSC alleging fraud and
31 and 2.5 lakh graduates will write favouritism in the merit list and
it. Simultaneously, the West Bengal payment of bribes to examiners and
Central School Service Commission board members. On December 11,
(WBCSSC) has issued a notification the Calcutta high court directed the
for conducting a selection test for commission to ensure that deserving
recruitment of assistant teachers for candidates aren’t left out of the merit
Santhali-medium schools, inviting list and the entire process is conduct-
online applications which closed on ed in a transparent manner.
January 6. At a time when senior TMC lead-
However just as the sky was ers are jumping ship and hopping
beginning to look brighter for TMC aboard the rolling BJP bandwagon,
and Banerjee, on December 11 the the December 11 high court order to
Calcutta high court cancelled the re- review the teachers’ appointments
cruitment process for upper primary has come as a great setback for chief
assistant teachers conducted by the minister Mamata Banerjee.
WBCSSC and directed the commis- Her response is to project herself
sion to commence it afresh from as the prime TMC candidate for the
January 4. Justice Moushumi Bhat- assembly election, now a mere four
tacharya set aside the panel as well months away. But with Banerjee Monitors of the K-12 education
as the merit list of upper primary appealing to the electorate for a third sector in Tamil Nadu are interpreting
teachers and directed the commis- term as chief minister despite not cancellation of exams in government
sion to complete fresh appointments being able to make much headway in and aided schools as admission of fail-
by July 31, 2021, when a new govern- solving the state’s chronic unemploy- ure by the AIADMK government to
ment will have been sworn-in. ment problem, the odds are stacked ensure learning continuity of children
he issue of recruiting teachers for against her. in public education. While private
Tgovernment schools which pay Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata) schools have swiftly switched to online
relatively high salaries prescribed classes and are also holding examina-
by Pay Commissions appointed by TAMIL NADU tions on digital platforms, the best
the Central government, has been that the government has been able to
a contentious issue in West Ben- Unseen children do is to broadcast teacher to pupil lec-
gal for several decades. During its tures on Kalvi TV, the state-run educa-
prolonged and unlamented rule he aiaDMK governMent has tion channel. Learning outcomes from
over the state for 34 uninterrupted cancelled half-yearly examina- these one-way lectures are likely to be
years (1977-2011), the CPM (Com- Ttions in all 39,300 government rock bottom even if children are herd-
munist Party of India-Marxist)-led and government-aided schools in the ed into specially sanitised premises to
Left Front government almost totally state. Over 6.7 million children en- write exams offline or online.
de-industrialised Bengal through rolled in these schools statewide who “There has been no classroom
officially sponsored labour militancy normatively would have written their teaching since March last year. Stu-
and hostility to private enterprise half-yearly examinations in December dents have been learning only from
and provoked continuous flight of won’t be tested. Earlier, quarterly ex- programmes being telecast on Kalvi
capital out of the state. Therefore, ams usually held in September were TV. Though it is a commendable
government employment — includ- cancelled. endeavour, it has not been easy for
ing government school teachers’ jobs In a statement issued on December them to adapt to this type of educa-
— is highly prized. 16, K.A. Sengottaiyan, minister for tion. Therefore, examinations based
Consequently immediately after school education, said the exams of on learning from these programmes
TET exams are written by over government and aided schools have would not have been fair,” says R.C.
500,000 graduates and less than 10 been cancelled because of the pan- Saraswathi, headmistress of Gov-
percent clear the exam, disaffected demic. However, private schools are ernment Girls Higher Secondary
aspirants flood the courts with writ free to conduct online exams at their School, Chennai, which has an enrol-
petitions alleging exam malpractices, option, says the official statement. ment of 3,985 children and 121 teach-

JANUARY 2021 EDUCATIONWORLD 19