Tamil Nadu govt teachers told to report for duty regularly even as schools remain shut

As schools for students studying from Class 1 to Class 9 have been closed due to the third wave of coronavirus, more than 1.5 lakh teachers from government and government-aided schools have been asked to report for duty without fail on all the working days for various academic-related activities.

Though there will not be any students, teachers will have to discharge various activities, including participating in several training programmes.

A senior official from the School Education Department said that teachers will communicate with their students studying from Class 1 to Class 9 on regular basis to inform the developments related to school activities.

Stating that online class facilities were not available for the students in state-run schools, he said the teachers will also ensure that their students actively study the portions through "Kalvi Tholaikatchi" (State's exclusive education channel).

"In addition, they (teachers) will be instructed to communicate with the parents to make their children engage in learning through education channel", he said adding "according to the standards, the programme schedule of the education channel will also be sent on a regular basis to the students and parents".

On the training programme, the official pointed out that all the teachers will be trained how to complete the reduced portions in a short period once the school reopens.

"The programme is set to expose teachers to various features that are available online (free tools) which would help reduce their content preparation time and increase the efficiency of teaching," he said.

"Teachers will also be involved in distributing dry rations to the children, who were enrolled in the noon-meal scheme if the schools were closed for more than one month", he added.

The official said during the closure of schools counselling sessions for teachers, who seek transfers and promotions, will be held across all the government schools.

He said apart from the members of the school management committee and school development committee will also carry out pending civil works and maintenance of school infrastructure, preparation of school development plan, and social audit of Covid.