The State government would appoint 14,377 teachers at all levels to improve access to higher education and ensure success of students in public examinations, C.Ve. Shanmugam, Minister for School Education, has said.
Moving the demands for grants for his department, Mr. Shanmugam announced that 2,682 postgraduate teachers, 5,790 graduate teachers, 4,342 secondary teachers, 1,538 special educators and 25 farm trainers would be appointed. The total allocation for school education has increased by Rs. 3,187 crore compared to last year. Under a NABARD scheme XI, Rs. 260 crore would be spent on basic infrastructure in 260 schools. As many as 1,353 librarian posts would also be filled. About 831 posts of headmaster would be created in middle schools this academic year, he said.
The government had also earmarked Rs 41.3 crore for identifying and educating children with special needs. A major component would be spent on students with dyslexia who are estimated to be 10 to 15 per cent. At a review meeting, the Chief Minister had specifically asked the department to concentrate on educating dyslexic and autistic children as they suffered at the hands of teachers and parents who were pressuring these children to perform more without understanding their learning disabilities. Special educators would be appointed for the purpose, Mr. Shanmugam said. Besides, three new residential schools would be started this year for educating orphaned and street children.
Students would be given smart cards with personal and academic details and the data could facilitate admission to any school at the time of migration due to family circumstances. Smart classrooms would be set up in five government schools at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore. From this year, special supplementary examinations would be held for students failing in all subjects in public exams, instead of three subjects, he announced.
