Edu Secy holds meet with teacher unions on bettering enrolment rates
The unions recommend conducting teacher training sessions during vacations and organising exposure visits to successful schools for improved learning experiences
Hyderabad: A meeting titled “Telangana: Future Ready” was presided over by the State Education Secretary Dr Yogita Rana with teachers’ unions on Wednesday.
During the meeting, EV Narsimhareddy, the Director of School Education, presented an analysis of student performance in Telangana based on NAS and ASER data. He highlighted the concerning trend of decreasing enrollment in government schools.
Secretary Dr Rana requested suggestions on how to enhance the quality of education and increase student enrollment. Teachers’ unions were encouraged to adopt schools to improve their quality.
One suggestion was to initiate a “School Walk Programme” to raise enrolment, ideally organised in April or the last week of May instead of June.
The unions emphasised that starting pre-primary classes in government schools could significantly boost enrollment. Additionally, they recommended conducting teacher training sessions during vacations and organising exposure visits to successful schools for improved learning experiences.
Linking Anganwadi Centres with pre-primary schools to enhance enrollment was also suggested. The unions advocated for high-quality training provided by expert resource persons to build teachers’ capacity, which could lead to improved educational quality. The recent recruitment of resource persons by the selection committee was met with appreciation. Furthermore, the unions proposed counselling sessions for teachers, facilitated by psychologists, to motivate them. They suggested that strengthening the inspection system and rationalising teacher assignments could contribute to better educational quality. Effective interaction between teachers and students in the classroom was highlighted as crucial.
In terms of improving government schools, the unions stressed the need for a facelift and called for action against private schools that violate regulations. They recommended holding regular meetings to ensure that these initiatives are effectively implemented. Additionally, having a dedicated teacher for each class could increase parental confidence and improve educational quality. Implementing a Spoken English Programme in schools was suggested to enhance students’ communication skills.
One of the key recommendations included revising the current textbook syllabus to better align with changing conditions. On the administrative front, regular appointments for District Educational Officers and Mandal Educational Officers were requested, along with an increase in school monitoring.
The unions also emphasised the need to organise sports and physical education in every school. Officials should visit schools with high enrollment to learn and implement best practices in other institutions. Reducing non-teaching responsibilities for teachers would allow them to focus more on improving student quality, and temporary teachers should be appointed to cover those on maternity leave or deputation. Efforts to publicise successful schools through local media and publications were encouraged, along with recognising and awarding the best teachers through an official process rather than an application-based method. The meeting addressed critical issues such as increasing student enrollment in government schools and improving basic educational development.
Dr Yogita Rana engaged in one-on-one discussions with representatives from the teachers’ unions. She affirmed the Education Department’s commitment to collaborating with teachers for the advancement of government schools.
A Sridevasena, Commissioner of College and Technical Education; M Haritha, Special Secretary of the Education Department, and all Additional Directors of the School Education Department participated in the meeting.
