The Hindu 11.08.2009

“Govt. should give incentives to teachers”

Special Correspondent

VELLORE: The Tamil Nadu government should introduce a system of providing incentives to teachers based on points scored by them in respect of their performance, in order to motivate them to improve the pass percentage of schools, especially in Vellore district, which got the lowest pass percentage in the State, said Sekar Viswanathan, Pro-Chancellor of VIT University.

Inaugurating the one-day training camp-cum-seminar for headmasters, organised by the Junior Red Cross (JRC), Tirupattur Education District, at Vani Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Gandhinagar near here on Monday, Mr. Sekar Viswanathan said that each teacher could be given points for various aspects of their work in schools, such as teaching, helping the administration, research, etc. He said that under a similar system introduced in the VIT University, incentives were given not only to the teachers, but also to the non-teaching employees based on the points earned by them. A teacher or a non-teaching employee who scored 100 points would get one month’s salary as incentive.

The VIT Pro-Chancellor said that the practice of the government watering down the syllabus in order to increase the pass percentage of the students would prove to be against the interests of the students in the long run, and would affect future generations of students. The government should upgrade the State Board syllabus gradually to that of the Central Board of Secondary Education or the Indian Council for Secondary Education. The students studying these syllabi are able to perform well. The rural students are quite intelligent, and with some effort, they would be able to cope with the upgraded syllabus, he said.

Mr. Sekar Viswanathan said that as part of its social responsibility, the VIT, would, in association with the VIT Alumni Association, soon conduct subject-wise training programme for the teachers of government schools in Vellore district. The teachers would be trained to bring out the hidden talents in the students and make them perform well in the examinations. The students would not study well unless they have the fear of failure if they did not perform well in the examinations, he said.

G. Moorthy, Chief Educational Officer, Vellore, who presided, stressed the need for activities aimed at channelising youth towards good and constructive activities in order to prevent them from falling into the clutches of extremists, since 60% of the population comprised youth. The tendency to help others and a give-and-take attitude were dwindling among the students. “We are slowly converting our students into mark-securing machines. Through organisations such as the JRC, we should instil in the youth discipline, unity, tolerance, humanitarianism and a social service mentality. Academic education is only secondary,” he said.

Susheela Suryaprakash, honorary secretary, Indian Red Cross Society, Vellore district branch, stressed the need for inculcating discipline in the students from childhood in order to prevent the kind of domestic violence that is being witnessed in society.

It is the duty of the teachers to mould the students into good and disciplined citizens, she said.

A. Sundarapandian, district secretary, JRC, Tirupattur education district, welcomed the gathering.