The Tamil Nadu Nursery Primary Matriculation Higher Secondary Association on Tuesday wrote to Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Sengottaiyan to provide clarity on schools reopening in the state and sought details of the syllabus that had been omitted The Tamil Nadu government recently formed an expert committee to reduce the syllabus of school textbooks by 40% in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Minister Sengottaiyan on September 18 said that the School Education Department had reduced 40% of the syllabus based on the recommendations of the expert committee.
In his letter, Nandakumar, state general secretary of Tamil Nadu Nursery Primary Matriculation Higher Secondary Association said, "We are conducting classes so that the children do not forget the lessons but we do not know when schools will reopen,” adding, "The government should announce the syllabus reduced by them for classes 1 to 12. They should announce page-wise details of omitted topics, since the delay in releasing the list has put the syllabus for the current year into question.”
While some private schools have been conducting online classes due to the lockdown, Nandakumar said, “There is no clarity on the quarterly, half-yearly and annual exams. The parents and private associations are bewildered over Class 10, Class 11 and Class 12 public examinations. The government should provide clarity on the omitted syllabus to reduce the stress.”
The association also requested the state government to issue a government order facilitating students to go back to schools for clarifying doubts, in line with the Union government’s policy. "The government has put a GO (Government Order) on hold to discuss and reconsider the order. Like other states, the government should issue orders to reopen the schools," he said.
Speaking to TNM, Krishna Raj from the Tamil Nadu Nursery Primary Matriculation Higher Secondary Association said, “The confusion over syllabus continues every year. However, this year, the syllabus is more unclear due to the pandemic. If we prepare the students for certain portions and they get omitted, then the student will be disappointed. The government should come up with a solution.”