Order for student suicide info has teachers upset
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai: A recent circular asking for information on student suicides due to teacher harassment over a period of three academic years has irked teachers in the state. While the circular was issued by the chief education officer in Karur, the same questions are also being raised in other districts like Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram, said teachers’ associations.
Teachers felt the topic of suicides has to be handled sensitively and shows teachers in poor light. Some also said the perspectives may differ in each case of suicide and placing the blame on teachers can be done very easily without understanding the repercussions. “A teacher’s entire reputation may be at stake if an accusation is taken for serious consideration,” said Aravind, a teacher of a state board school in the city.
State president of the Tamil Nadu Teachers Association, P K Ilamaran said it is wrong to send out such a circular. Such issues should be discussed at parent-teacher meetings or call for a separate discussion with teachers on handling such instances, he said. “Nowadays, teachers have become wary because children point fingers at them for even reprimanding them. When the department also sends out such circulars, it gives out a wrong message because teachers would feel that the department too is turning against them,” he said.
School education secretary Pradeep Yadav remarked the drafting of the circular was not done in the right manner given the sensitivity of the issue.
Teachers felt that moral and value education as a concept also is not being taught properly to children who don’t treat their peers or teachers with the respect and right attitude.
Incidentally, school education minister K A Sengottaiyan also announced that new areas of value education will be incorporated into the curriculum module.
State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) director Arivoli said that the Value Integrated Teaching and Learning (VITAL) module had been distributed to schools last September but now will involve new areas of focus which will especially be incorporated along with Social Science lessons and language texts.
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai: A recent circular asking for information on student suicides due to teacher harassment over a period of three academic years has irked teachers in the state. While the circular was issued by the chief education officer in Karur, the same questions are also being raised in other districts like Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram, said teachers’ associations.
Teachers felt the topic of suicides has to be handled sensitively and shows teachers in poor light. Some also said the perspectives may differ in each case of suicide and placing the blame on teachers can be done very easily without understanding the repercussions. “A teacher’s entire reputation may be at stake if an accusation is taken for serious consideration,” said Aravind, a teacher of a state board school in the city.
State president of the Tamil Nadu Teachers Association, P K Ilamaran said it is wrong to send out such a circular. Such issues should be discussed at parent-teacher meetings or call for a separate discussion with teachers on handling such instances, he said. “Nowadays, teachers have become wary because children point fingers at them for even reprimanding them. When the department also sends out such circulars, it gives out a wrong message because teachers would feel that the department too is turning against them,” he said.
School education secretary Pradeep Yadav remarked the drafting of the circular was not done in the right manner given the sensitivity of the issue.
Teachers felt that moral and value education as a concept also is not being taught properly to children who don’t treat their peers or teachers with the respect and right attitude.
Incidentally, school education minister K A Sengottaiyan also announced that new areas of value education will be incorporated into the curriculum module.
State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) director Arivoli said that the Value Integrated Teaching and Learning (VITAL) module had been distributed to schools last September but now will involve new areas of focus which will especially be incorporated along with Social Science lessons and language texts.
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