800 teachers to be trained in writing new textbooks

While the seminar on Thursday gave an overall view of the changes that are likely to happen, special subject-wise sessions will be organised on Friday and Saturday for 800 teachers of all subjects, who will play a key role in writing the new textbooks. The workshop will be held at Anna University, IIT Madras and Anna Centenary Library. 

“The three-day event is to bring together all stakeholders under one platform,” said  T Udhyachandran, School Education Secretary, adding that, teachers from this group will be utilised for textbook writing. “The entire group will be divided into 10-12 subject-wise sub-groups. Panellists from every session will have one academician (from a government organisation like NCERT), one educationist, an activist, a member of an NGO and practising teacher. 

The teachers are not only from government schools but also from reputed private institutions,” Udhyachandran said. This apart, there will be multimedia presentations. The aim is to have an inclusive approach by consulting all stakeholders. 

“For instance, we have a session on how to handle kids with disabilities. By the end of the session, we will have teachers whose services will be commissioned for textbook writing. Also, panellists from varied backgrounds will be recognised to mentor the teachers who will write the books,” he said. 

The textbooks will be designed in a way that it is attractive to the students. They also plan to focus on e-books, digital medium of teaching and video sessions. The first batch of new textbooks for Classes 1, 6, 9 and 11 will be out by June 2018.