Tiruvannamalai education officials seek more teachers as intake goes up

Nearly 900 children were enrolled in kindergarten sections in government schools in Keezh Pennathur panchayat union, which is located about 25 km from Tiruvannamalai, recently, according to CEO V Jayakumar.

Talking to DT Next, he said, “With enrolment in government schools on the rise, we anticipate around 6,000 admissions this year. At present, the student-teacher ratio is 1:30 in primary classes and 1:35 in upper primary classes. So, we will need at least 200 more teachers to handle the increase in number of students.”

According to sources, the increase is the result of private and voluntary agencies canvassing on behalf of government schools. In Arni, the Small and Medium Traders’ Association carried out a drive among parents to make use of the kindergarten classes in government schools, which resulted in 70 admissions. After the admissions increased, a private club, which usually provides uniforms to 500 government school students, has volunteered to increase the number to 3,000 students.

Both private parties and education department officials ensured that the parents knew about the benefits of putting their wards in government schools, where education notebooks, textbooks and uniforms were all given free of cost.

“We expect the government will soon fill the 300 teacher vacancies in the district following the recent selection exam. If that does not materialise, we are planning to submit a proposal to seek a minimum of 200 new teachers to the government,” said V Jayakumar.

Collector KS Kandasamy, who initiated measures to increase the enrolment in government schools, earlier said that, “We expect the number of students to increase as the admission will continue till Vijaydasami in October.” The PTA (Parents Teachers Associations) is also expected to play a key role in increasing admissions in many schools as they have now been included in the process.