Teachers share ideas for ‘new school curriculum’

Around 30 teachers from each district participated and presented their suggestions to members of new TN Curriculum Framework Committee during the meeting at Agarwal Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School.

Talking about the suggestions of the teachers, M Anandakrishnan, who heads the committee, said that the present-day education system was not only outdated, but was also disappointing. “To bring about a change, we need to know the ground reality and for that we need to interact with the stakeholders. The committee held similar meetings in Madurai and Coimbatore. After the meeting in Chennai, the panel will conduct one in Thanjavur.”

He said, “most of the teachers voted against the concept of blueprint as it has done no good to the students. Secondly, there is a divided opinion about preparing the students for competitive exams. While some though that focus should be given on preparing the students for these exams, others felt that the onus should be on the fundamentals and make their foundation strong.” 

The meeting also touched upon other important issues like the infrastructure and the use of technology.

Renowned artists Trotsky Marudu, who is also part of the committee, reiterated the importance of visual medium. “Every school must have a creative space where students can learn art. Arts is not being given importance in schools and often the arts period is allocated to ‘important’ subjects. This has to change and there is also a good demand for subjects like visual communication and graphic designing.” 

By the end of the session, the teachers were asked to submit their written recommendations for scrutiny by the committee.