Delay in delivery of Samacheer Kalvi textbooks in Cuddalore District

             Inordinate delay in procuring textbooks from Tamil Nadu Text Book Corporation in Cuddalore is causing hardship to students and teachers, especially from private schools, due to non-availability of textbooks and confusion over omitted portions.

           The delay is causing problem to parents too as they are forced to spend extra money to take printouts of syllabus from CDs and the Internet. According to an official from the Department of Education, they have only received textbooks for class I and class X for students studying through English medium. All Tamil medium books have been received, the official said. These books are for students studying in government and aided schools. Private schools have a different system, where they pay money to Amudhasurabi for the books.

              Parents from various schools across Puducherry say they paid money around 10 days ago. Despite this, textbooks have not been delivered, even for class X students, who are scheduled to sit for Board examinatios at the end of the academic year. At present, students and teachers in private schools are managing with printouts taken either from the Samacheer Kalvi CD or the Internet. According to a teacher from Seventh Day Adventist School, who is also a parent, even the CD took a while to come through official channels. Several teachers got together to find contacts in the neighbouring State to supply them the CD.

          “We often are unsure of what portions have been omitted, so we have been concentrating on teaching portions that are common between the old syllabus and the new syllabus,” the teacher said.

              “My daughter is studying the class X and she has Board examinations at the end of the year. But, students have not yet received the textbooks. Despite this, quarterly exams have been announced in September,” said one of the parents of a student in St. Joseph of Cluny Girls' Higher Secondary School.

              Speaking to The Hindu, Managing Director of Amudhasurabhi T. Chanemougan said the textbook corporation says preference is given to the government schools. So far, Amudhasurabi had received around Rs. 44 lakh from private schools towards, but there is no supply at the depot in Cuddalore, he said.

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15 lakh textbooks set to remain unused in Cuddalore district

CUDDALORE: 

         Because of the proposal of the State government to have a re-look at the school education system, nearly 15 lakh newly printed textbooks under the Equitable Education System are now lying idle in the godowns in Cuddalore district.

             These might most probably be rendered obsolete if the committee proposed to be set up by the Ministry of Education finds the quality of contents not up to the mark. Education Department sources told The Hindu that a whopping Rs.300 crore had been spent on printing these books for distribution all over the State. It would work out to roughly Rs.10 crore for every district and it was a matter of conjecture whether these books would ever be used at all. The private matriculation schools were vociferous critics of the new system of education because they felt that it would dilute the quality of education.

            They would rather prefer the department to allow them to procure “standard textbooks” compiled within the framework of the syllabus. The parents and students had a differing view that the private schools were thrusting upon them the highly priced textbooks. They were of the opinion that only government-supplied textbooks, as proposed under the new system, would bring down the cost of education. Already, the “Samacheer Kalvi Thittam” (Equitable Education System) was introduced in Class I and Class VI. For the current academic year, it was proposed to bring Class I to Class X under the system.

            However, the new government formed by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had decided to keep at bay its implementation and also withheld the distribution of new text books. It meant that even Class I and Class VI should also revert to the old system of education. The sources further said that already the private schools had started placing orders with the publishers to fulfil their textbook requirements as per the 2009-2010 syllabus.

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Free textbooks distribution likely in June

CUDDALORE:

         Free textbooks for school students are likely to be distributed by first week of June after getting the concurrence of the new School Education Minister, C.Ve. Shanmugham.

      From this academic year, equitable education syllabus will be introduced up to Standard X (already it is in effect in the Standard VI), according to C. Amudhavalli, Chief Educational Officer. She was addressing a meeting of headmasters of government-run and government aided schools convened here on Monday. She said that in the Plus- Two public examinations, the district's performance had moved up from 27th place to 24th place in the State.

          The department was trying to place Cuddalore within the 20th position next year. She said that the onus was on headmasters and teachers to identify the Standard X and XII students, who had lesser attention span and grasping power at the beginning of the academic year itself, and give them special coaching. Ms. Amudhavalli told the headmasters of the schools whose Plus-Two results had shown a declining trend of two to three per cent to work on the weaker areas to improve the results this year.

           She said that in the recent Plus-Two public examinations 1,072 students failed in mathematics and, therefore, this was one area where the headmasters and the teachers ought to concentrate more. Ms. Amudhavalli said that “online employment registration” for those who had completed Standard X and Plus-Two would begin in the respective schools on May 25, the day of marksheet distribution. This task ought to be completed within 15 days. For the purpose of registration, students should bring photo copies of ration cards for entering their numbers in the system. In the case of students who had already enrolled their names in the employment office registers, the registration numbers should be keyed in. In this regard, a training programme would be organised for teachers on May 19 and 20. This would avoid the rush to the employment office . 

Students could also visit 

www.velaivaippu.tn.gov.in 

for registration.

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Free textbooks to be dispatched soon

CUDDALORE: 

           Free textbooks for 2010-2011 will soon be sent by post to 2,117 schools in the district, according to Collector R. Palanisamy. During a review meeting with officials of the Education Department held here, the Collector said 4.5 lakh students in primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools would benefit from the free textbook scheme.

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