The Times of India 16.03.2013
No English medium in Trichy corporation schools even next academic year
TRICHY: A proposal to introduce English as a medium of instruction in Trichy corporation schools
is still hanging in the balance and the system is unlikely to become a
reality in the next academic year. Meanwhile, the teachers of
corporation and government schools in the city are trying to rope in
more students for enrolment.
On June 28, 2006, the Trichy corporation council passed a resolution to launch English as medium of instruction in six corporation-run schools, as a pilot project. The civic body had decided to embark on the proposal following the drop in admissions in corporation schools and to provide English medium education to the poverty-stricken students, particularly the children of its sanitary workers. Despite the resolution having been passed in 2006, the scheme did not find any mention in the recently-tabled corporation budget for 2013-14. "We are yet to take a final call on the matter. Initially, we sought suggestions from private English medium schools to provide quality education. But there was no positive response from their side. So, we have decided to introduce the scheme with the help of the parent teachers' associations in our schools now," corporation commissioner, V P Dhandapani, told TOI on Wednesday night.
Dhandapani also said, "We have to appoint more faculty through the Trichy corporation, to run the English medium. So, we seek support from the parent teachers associations to share the salary expenses for the faculty in order to reduce our burden. We should also collect a nominal fee from the students. However, it has not been finalised so far. Due to these constraints, the English medium will not be introduced in the next academic year."
At this juncture, the education department, especially the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) began creating awareness among the public to enrol their children in government schools instead of private institutions. For instance, the students of Pandamangalam South Municipality Government Elementary school students carried out a rally to create awareness about the government schools.
But the irony is that most of the government school teachers enrol their children in private schools considering the quality of education provided there. A headmaster of a corporation school said, "Nowadays, everyone, including us, want to provide education to our children through English medium. Since such facility is not available in our schools, we prefer private schools. But we expected that the English medium would be introduced this year. Now, it is not possible. So, it is clear that it will be tough to enrol more students this year."
On June 28, 2006, the Trichy corporation council passed a resolution to launch English as medium of instruction in six corporation-run schools, as a pilot project. The civic body had decided to embark on the proposal following the drop in admissions in corporation schools and to provide English medium education to the poverty-stricken students, particularly the children of its sanitary workers. Despite the resolution having been passed in 2006, the scheme did not find any mention in the recently-tabled corporation budget for 2013-14. "We are yet to take a final call on the matter. Initially, we sought suggestions from private English medium schools to provide quality education. But there was no positive response from their side. So, we have decided to introduce the scheme with the help of the parent teachers' associations in our schools now," corporation commissioner, V P Dhandapani, told TOI on Wednesday night.
Dhandapani also said, "We have to appoint more faculty through the Trichy corporation, to run the English medium. So, we seek support from the parent teachers associations to share the salary expenses for the faculty in order to reduce our burden. We should also collect a nominal fee from the students. However, it has not been finalised so far. Due to these constraints, the English medium will not be introduced in the next academic year."
At this juncture, the education department, especially the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) began creating awareness among the public to enrol their children in government schools instead of private institutions. For instance, the students of Pandamangalam South Municipality Government Elementary school students carried out a rally to create awareness about the government schools.
But the irony is that most of the government school teachers enrol their children in private schools considering the quality of education provided there. A headmaster of a corporation school said, "Nowadays, everyone, including us, want to provide education to our children through English medium. Since such facility is not available in our schools, we prefer private schools. But we expected that the English medium would be introduced this year. Now, it is not possible. So, it is clear that it will be tough to enrol more students this year."