BENGALURU: Learning in thousands of govt and aided schools in Karnataka has come to a standstill with estimated 30% teachers drafted for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.Educationists fear learning loss is highly likely, with no teaching happening for several weeks and some schools grouping children from different classes into a common room with just one or two teachers to keep them in order.While BLOs (booth-level officers) are conducting houseto-house visits from June 30 to August 8, they were made to undergo training for SIR from June 20.As a result, academic activities have taken a backseat from the third week of the new academic year that started last month. With GBA elections and census Part 2 set to take place later this year, teachers are predicting a washout for the current academic year.
‘No studies in schools; kids have lunch & go home’
Teachers would spend more time outside the classroom than inside,” a teacher said.For perspective, of 3,735 teachers in Bengaluru North education district, 1,304 from 535 govt and 220 aided schools are on SIR duty. The SIR-deputed teachers are higher at 2,344 for Bengaluru South.In several primary schools across Bengaluru, all teachers except for one or two have been marked for SIR duty.Many schools have become centres of SIR activities. “It is like a market. There is no education at all. Children come to school, have lunch and then go back home,” an SDMC member pointed out.Learning-based assessment was supposed to conducted after each chapter, but the department is mum about it. “Without teaching, how can we conduct tests? The department will force us to ensure students excel in SSLC exam,” said another teacher.“We have only two of the 12 teachers on campus. They are teaching Maths and English. There’s zero activity in other subjects,” she added.
Must reschedule entire academic year: Expert
Niranjanaradhya VP, educationist, said: “The situation during Covid was inevitable, but this is a state-made situation. We must now reschedule the entire academic year.”He expressed fears that parents would now send children to low-budget private schools, creating an impression that no learning happens in govt schools.Moideenkutty, president, Karnataka State School Development Monitoring Committee Coordination Forum, said: “Let all govt, aided and unaided schools shut for 15 days to take up SIR work, and then reopen all schools together. What is the point in running schoolswithout teachers?”
A government school teacher
D Shashi Kumar, secretary, Karnataka Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools, said: “The foremost obligation is to protect the academic interests of children. Election administration should not hurt students. Now, the academicloss will adversely impact foundational literacy and numeracy.”Manjunath M, honorary president of Karnataka State High School Teachers’ Association, said: “Around 80% of the teachers are on SIR duty. There will be learning loss. It is worrisome.”
