TEC Chairman Promises Overhaul of Telangana’s Govt Schools in Six Months
ADILABAD: Chairman of the Telangana Education Commission (TEC) Akunuri Murali on Friday said that facilities in government schools and hostels would improve in six months. The commission would submit its first report on mid-day meals and Gurukuls to the government soon.
Deccan Chronicle spoke with the TEC chairman after he visited government schools, residential schools and Basar IIIT and held meetings with teachers, headmasters and officials in Adilabad.
Excerpts:
Q. What are your observations after your visit to government schools and gurukul?
The quality of education imparted to students is poor. The quality of mid-day meals is not good and there is poor infrastructure in government schools and hostels. However, infrastructure is better in residential schools than in ZPHS and MPP schools.
Small schools with 10-30 students and single teachers affect the education system and the future of students in government schools.
There are 7,500 government schools where teachers teach students till Class V and two teachers for students up to Class V in 11,500 government schools. This is called multi-grade teaching and is damaging education. The commission may recommend providing free transportation to students to reduce dropouts and improve access to schools.
Q. What is the concept of big schools you are talking about?
The state government has to create big schools with sufficient students and teachers, good environment, well-equipped classrooms, kitchens, dining halls, libraries and playgrounds to impart quality education. The government must create big schools while continuing small schools and should not encourage residential schools at the cost of non-residential schools and vice versa.
Q. What is the status of mid-day meals?
There are issues in the implementation of mid-day meals and preparation of food in Gurukul and hostels. SHGs, who cook the meals, do not get their bills paid on time and they have to purchase food items and ingredients at higher prices from the market. The government pays them lower unit cost compared to market prices. We need to hike the budget of the unit.
The commission toured all 33 districts in last 15 days and as chairman I toured 13. The quality of mid-day meals is poor in schools in interior areas and, there is still poverty in the erstwhile Adilabad district.
The commission will submit its first report on mid-day meals and conditions in gurukuls by the end of December. A second report on government schools and school education will be submitted in January 2025. And subsequently, reports on colleges and higher education will be submitted. MDM is being implemented in 26,650 government schools in the state.
Q. How do you see the incidents of food-poisoning in gurukulas and SW hostels?
Very few students have been affected, unlike during the BRS government tenure when a large number of students suffered from food-poisoning. The commission will recommend to the state government set up a quality monitoring system and scientific storage. Things will improve in the government schools, Gurukulas and other hostels in the next six months. The recently hiked mess and cosmetic charges will also help. The mid-day meal comes under the Central government and it has to hike the unit cost.
Q. Why are you collecting opinions from teachers and parents about non-residential schools and residential schools?
Only 7-8 per cent of students study in residential schools while 90 per cent of students are in non-residential schools. One should maintain a balance between both and should not close the non-residential schools to encourage residential schools. The BRS government sanctioned gurukuls without infrastructure and 600 gurukul are being run from private buildings. The commission will recommend permanent buildings for these gurukulas.
Q. What about the state universities?
The BRS government killed universities and colleges and failed to fill vacancies. Eighty per cent of teaching posts are vacant in universities. The commission will recommend to the state government to consider recruitment of teachers to strengthen universities. The commission will also recommend the state government to provide quality education and basic amenities to students at Basar IIIT.
Q. What is your opinion on the policy of merger of high school education with Intermediate as recommended by the New Education Policy?
The commission will consult all stakeholders including civil society before deciding on the merger. They will not fully oppose the move like Tamil Nadu nor fully support it like Uttar Pradesh. We will reject what is not suitable for Telangana and adopt suitable recommendations. The ‘play school system’ is best advocated in the policy and that will be adopted for the state.
Q. What about the implementation of English medium in government schools and gurukuls?
The implementation has not been effective in government schools. For example, we visited a school where students studied Classes 1 to 5 in English medium and are studying in Telugu medium in high schools.
Q. What are your observations on the education of tribal students in ashram schools in the erstwhile Adilabad district?
There are Gondi, Kolami, Telugu, Banjara, and Urdu languages in erstwhile Adilabad and now English will be introduced, The commission will prepare guidelines for teaching with the help of NCERT.
The situation is strange and there is confusion in teaching students. Segregating teachers based on their mother tongue and posting them in villages where students speak their mother tongue could solve the problem to some extent.
Q. What about the KG to PG concept talked about during the previous government?
The KG to PG concept is practically impossible since KG institutions must be in villages and PG institutions at least at the Assembly constituency level. There is no such concept called KG to PG anywhere in the world.
