TMC to hold exam for civic school teachers to test education quality

The Thane civic body has decided to soon conduct an exam for its school teachers to test their educational qualities and teaching capabilities. The decision was

The Thane civic body has decided to soon conduct an exam for its school teachers to test their educational qualities and teaching capabilities. The decision was taken after some corporators demanded for such a test in the general body meeting held last month.

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“Soon, teachers will be adjudged on a basic test to know if they are updated on the changing syllabus and are teaching as per the requirement of each class. We have already conducted a test for students to ensure they are competent to be in the class they are in. A similar test will be offered to the teachers as well,” an official from TMC’s education department said.

Teachers are not in the favour of the test. “We have been chosen to teach based on our qualifications. If there are no complaints from students or parents about understanding the subjects or any topic, then why does the corporation doubt our credentials? Instead, it should ensure that the facilities provided by the corporation reaches students on time,” said a teacher from a civic school at Vartak Nagar, who did not wish to be named.

Owing to the decreasing number of students in civic schools, TMC had started several initiatives such as digital classrooms and better infrastructure. However, there was no drastic surge in the student enrolment in civic schools. Corporators said the drop rate is owing to the poor teaching quality.

One of the corporators, Sanjay Bhoir, said, “The decrease in the number of students in civic schools could be owing to the poor quality of teaching as well. Teachers in civic schools are paid ₹70,000 to ₹80,000 every month. In private schools, teachers get a lower salary, but provide quality education to students. Thus, private schools attract more students from civic schools.”

Pramila Keni, the Opposition leader in TMC, said, “First, TMC must provide basic infrastructure, such as proper classrooms, and provide bags and stationery on time, and focus on quality education. This will ensure fewer drop outs. Only after solving these problems should the civic body focus on classroom digitalisation.”