The Tamil Nadu School Education Department passed an order on Wednesday facilitating teachers of government and government-aided schools to work from home from May 1. The teachers of government and government-aided schools were reporting to work despite the increase in COVID-19 cases and were also conducting practical exams for Class 12 students until last week.
On Wednesday, S Kannappan, Director of School Education Department said that the teachers, while awaiting the announcement of Class 12 exam schedule, can work from home and guide the students. The teachers of other classes can stay in touch with students through WhatsApp, phone calls and other digital media and encourage students to watch bridge courses as telecasted on Kalvi TV, Kannappan said.
However, the director said that the teachers might have to come to school by the end of May to prepare for the next academic year and to discuss the syllabus for the students, and a separate order will be issued for the same.
Schools in the state were shut in March 2020 due to the spread of the novel coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown. The Tamil Nadu government then reopened schools for Classes 9 to 12 students in order to prepare them for the board exams. However, as cases started to spike in the wake of the second wave, the Tamil Nadu government declared that it would pass all students till Class 11 and physical classes were closed.
However, students of Class 12 were attending schools and were told to stay home after the practical exams, which were conducted till last week. While the Tamil Nadu government deferred public exams for Class 12 students scheduled on May 3, the state directed the schools to conduct practical examinations.
However, once the practical exams were over, teachers started demanding that the schools allow them to work from home since there were concerns over increasing COVID-19 cases. Earlier, teachers told TNM that there is also a fear among them, since teachers were also testing positive for the coronavirus.