Teachers’ Association demands regular counselling

“In the Tirupattur, according to reports, all the HM asked the student was why was not he in the class and the student took this extreme step. We have been seeing similar incidents in the past where the teachers were attacked. Recently, four persons barged into a classroom in Padalur and assaulted a teacher accusing him of discrimination. The government should take steps to address this issue,” said PK Ilamaran, state president of Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Association. He further added that the incidents have only been increasing in the recent years. 

“We want counselling to be made compulsory in all the schools, wherein a mental health specialist visits a school once a month and talks to the students and teachers. A mental health specialist must be appointed to visit the schools and special sessions must be organised for teachers also,” said Ilamaran, adding, “Times have changed. With technologies taking over our lives, students have easy access to everything. They are easily influenced by the violent content in the cinema and as a mark of heroism attack teachers to prove a point.” 

Teachers also said that adding Moral Science as a regular subject will be helpful. “Moral Science should be made compulsory for students. It used to be a part of the syllabus some years ago but was eventually excluded. This subject has to be taken seriously and the kids should be taught to value moral lessons,” he said. 

The new syllabus is in the process of being redesigned and the members of the association have written to the committee to include the subject. “We have written to the school education department to include these demands when the new syllabus is framed and implemented,” he said.