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Tamil Nadu News Papers - Education - TNIUS Coimbatore

Corpn. may soon take over schools

Wednesday, 21 December 2011 07:38 administrator
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The Hindu           21.12.2011

Corpn. may soon take over schools

Karthik Madhavan

Coimbatore Corporation may get to add 59 schools to its kitty, if all goes according to plans.

The Corporation Committee on Education, Playgrounds and Parks has taken the first step in this direction at its first meeting, held a few days ago. A resolution passed at the Committee meeting says that the Corporation Council should pass a resolution to take over the administration of schools in added areas.

The purpose of passing such a resolution, according to R. Santhamani, the Committee's chairperson, is to ensure that the infrastructure and quality of education in the schools are on a par with that of the Corporation schools, what with the schools technically coming under the Corporation limits.

As per a Corporation study, there are 25 Panchayat Union Elementary schools, 34 Panchayat Union Middle schools, nine government high schools and 13 government higher secondary schools. Of those the Corporation is likely to seek administrative control of only the elementary and middle schools.

They add up to 59 schools. And if the civic body takes over the schools, the total number of schools will go up from 82 to 141 schools. The number of students will also go up considerably. At present, the Corporation schools cater to 28,845 students.

Improvement

Corporation school hogged the limelight in the last couple of years when the then Corporation Committee and administration initiated a series of steps to improve the quality of education. They introduced soft skills, communicative English and a few other training programmes.

They also asked the teachers to conduct special classes, coaching and prepare question bank for students appearing for public examinations.

The results of such efforts were visible in the March-April 2011 examinations. A few students scored district ranks and the number of students with high marks increased.

The Corporation also managed to get ISO certification for a couple of its schools.

R. Kalyanasundaram, former Chairman, Corporation Committee on Education, Playgrounds and Parks, says that the present Committee will be justified in asking for the 59 schools only it is committed to improve infrastructure and quality of education.

“That calls for dedication and honest, clean approach.”

But all is not well within the Corporation. The number of elementary and middle schools has decreased over the years. The number came down from 64 elementary and 14 higher elementary (middle) schools in 1991-92 to 40 and 15 now.

In short, the Corporation has either closed down or merged a number of schools. Mr. Kalayanasundaram says the reason has to do with the fall in students' strength.

Funds, however, are not a problem for the civic body because it has to utilise five per cent of the taxes it collects towards education. Mr. Kalyanasundaram says the question is how well it uses the funds.

 

Expert teachers to be grouped under Corporation initiative

Wednesday, 07 December 2011 05:35 administrator
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The Hindu        07.12.2011

Expert teachers to be grouped under Corporation initiative

Meera Srinivasan

They will give special attention to Class XII students

Impetus: Focus on key concepts, practice exercises based on the blueprints of question papers will equip students better, say teachers. — FILE PHOTO.
Impetus: Focus on key concepts, practice exercises based on the blueprints of question papers will equip students better, say teachers. — FILE PHOTO.

In an attempt to bring good teachers in contact with students who might need them the most, the Chennai Corporation has come up with an innovative programme that seeks to give additional training to select groups of students about to take their class XII Board examination in March.

To start with, experienced teachers handling commerce, accountancy, chemistry and mathematics have been grouped. They work together, preparing modules on key concepts, and discussing blueprints of question papers in detail.

According to T.N. Venkatesh, Joint Commissioner (Education) of Chennai Corporation, the initiative seeks to pay special attention to students, helping them understand concepts better.

“Some teachers are very experienced and experts in teaching concepts. Typically, a group has five to six teachers. Students who need additional help in these subjects assemble in a particular school and attend these sessions,” he said.

This is particularly helpful in the case of certain schools that may not have a subject teacher posted after the school was upgraded, or may be awaiting a teacher as the previous teacher got transferred. The sessions are conducted at select schools such as ones in Saidapet, Choolai and Maduvankarai. Students from other schools are intimated about it, and the sessions are attended by students in large numbers, according to officials.

Mr. Venkatesh says teachers have been very receptive to the idea. “This is also a way to recognise very good talent among our teachers and give them space to innovate in teaching methodology.” Not just teachers, AEOs who are subject experts and the Joint Commissioner himself have been actively involved in evolving new modules. “It is a team effort and it is in the interest of students,” he said.

Additional support

Many students going to Chennai Schools certainly need this additional support, according to teachers. N. Kalaiselvam, chemistry teacher at the Chennai School in Rotler Street, Choolai, says students get little support from parents.

“They cannot afford tuition classes, either. With some help, they might be able to perform better and that will make a huge difference to their higher education,” she said.

Pointing to their adverse home environments, she said: “Many children did not even have a safe place to keep their records during the recent rains. The pages were all wet when they brought it for submission.”

Given that the examinations will begin in a few months, it may not be possible to cover the entire textbook. “We choose important chapters, key concepts and likely questions and concentrate on just that. That way each student can appear for the examination with more confidence,” said Ms. Kalaiselvam.

 

Govt to provide security for corpn-run schools

Thursday, 30 June 2011 06:52 administrator
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The Times of India         30.06.2011

Govt to provide security for corpn-run schools

Jun 30, 2011, 02.04am IST
CHENNAI: The state government has decided to provide security cover to all the corporation run middle, high and higher secondary schools across the city in the light of reports about thefts and unlawful activities. Official sources said that each school will be provided with two security staff round the clock including on weekends and other government holidays besides summer vacation. Unlawful activities have been reported particularly at night time. The security persons will report to the civic officials who will maintain an attendance register. There are more than 200 corporation schools in Chennai.The corporation will outsource the job to various security agencies, sources added.
 
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