CHENNAI: The plus-1 results announced on Wednesday once again raised serious concerns over the widening gap in the quality of education between government and private institutions. While government schools recorded a pass percentage of 90.6 per cent, private institutions recorded almost 99.1 per cent pass percentage in the plus-1 results. Though the performance of government institutions has been steadily on the rise, the disparity between government and private institutions is only becoming more evident over the years.
General Secretary, State Platform for Common School System -Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN) P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu says, “It is unfair to compare the performance of government and private institutions with marks as the only deciding criteria. There is indeed more learning in government schools than in private institutes as students in government schools are well-accustomed to face real-life problems, and this is the ultimate object of any education.”
The educationist says that government school teachers should not be blamed for the lower pass percentage. “Teachers don't run the school. If the efficiency or performance of teachers is to be questioned, higher officials are to be held responsible, as it is their duty to inspect and assess teachers. The children and grandchildren of all government officials, including secretaries, should be enrolled in government schools as the institutions are run by them. If the schools are not suitable for their children, the officials must be blamed for not carrying out their work properly.”
Voicing his support for government school teachers he says, “Government school teachers are the most dedicated and hard-working people. They are burdened with a lot of other non-teaching work and still manage to deliver.”
Social activist Ramakrishnan said that government must allot more funds for school education. He says that while government gives free laptops to students, it fails to take care of basic amenities in schools such as water, labs, building infrastructure and restrooms. “Girl students also face serious hardship in government schools,” he says.
