Mass failures: Teachers given the boot; one shunted, seven transferred
Pudukottai: The mass failure of students at the Aranthangi Govt Model Boys School in Pudukottai in board exams has sparked disciplinary action against teachers of the school. The district education office has suspended one teacher for consuming alcohol on campus and transferred seven others for negligence that directly contributed to the poor academic performance, where more than 40% of students failed to make it past the line.
While the seven teachers were transferred for 'failing' in their duty to help students pass, the suspended teacher was also found to be irregular to classes due to his drinking habit and was described as a 'hindrance' to the academic growth of students in the suspension order. "There has been a thorough inquiry, and we found that the vocational teacher had attended classes in an inebriated state multiple times and had also consumed alcohol on campus," chief educational officer K Shanmugam told TOI.
Sources also said the action was not solely due to the results but also stemmed from 'blatant' negligence of duty—such as irregular attendance, frequently being distracted by their phones during class hours, and even running personal businesses from within the campus.
The disciplinary measures follow an inquiry ordered by the district education authorities on May 19 to ascertain why an unusually high number of students had failed en masse.
The orders, issued on June 6 and handed over to the teachers on Monday, include various streams, including chemistry, history, commerce, mathematics, science, and agriculture. Among them, three held undergraduate degrees and four were postgraduates.
The former headmaster retired on May 31, and the school is currently being overseen by an in-charge HM deputed from Avudaiyarkoil school.
Aranthangi MLA ST Ramachandran, who had also been part of the inquiry, welcomed the move. "A WhatsApp group has been created—including locals, parents, SMC members, and education officials—to monitor the situation from now on. Hopefully, many students will clear the supplementary exams soon. This should be a wake-up call. I hope things take a turn for the better," he told TOI.
The poor performance drew attention after 107 of the 256 students who appeared for the Class XII board exams failed, while 99 out of 240 Class XI students also did not clear the exams. In Class X, 36 out of 107 students failed as well.
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