‘TN must reconsider merging Adi Dravidar schools under edu dept’

CHENNAI: Strongly urging to reconsider the merging of Adi Dravidar welfare (ADW) schools and schools of other denotified communities under the school education department (SED), educationalists held a press meet here on Tuesday.

During the Budget session in March, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan announced that all schools functioning under departments including Adi Dravidar Welfare (ADW), Backward Class, Most Backward Class and denotified Communities, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) and Forest will be brought under SED.

This is supposedly one of the long-pending requests to the government by these departments. The same was brought up in the State high-level vigilance and monitoring committee meetings held in the presence of chairperson and Chief Minister MK Stalin in August 2021 and April 2022.

Subsequently, with the motive of achieving social justice and to improve the quality of schools along with teaching, the government decided to merge the schools.

It further assured that the benefits of staff and teachers will be protected.

Opposing this decision, Arivu Samugam, a collaboration of educationalists, teachers, NGOs and other stakeholders joined together and spoke on the government's approach towards ADW schools in particular and said this approach does not qualify for social justice and equality.

The group also argued that the TN government is trying to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which mandates for the States to only have government and private schools. And, schools run by other departments should be merged with SED.

"Low pass percentage and poor performance of students in ADW schools is due to lack of teachers and poor quality of teaching and facilities overall. For this and for other irregularities, the ADW department officials should take the responsibility instead of pleading for a merger,” said Prince Gajendra Babu, an educationist.

Further, the members of Arivu Samugam questioned the reason behind not appointing a physical education teacher at ADW schools, keeping the teachers vacancies unattended and importantly forcing temporary teachers to work for a lesser salary.

The group further pointed out that there are 833 ADW primary schools where 40,000 students are studying across TN. Most of these schools are located in areas where the population of Dalits are higher in number. "If these schools are shut down as a result of a merger, what is to happen to these schools and potential student dropouts that are to come with it,” the members quizzed.