Latest news with #HigherSecondarySchoolTeachers'Association
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Kerala govt. amends controversial order on HSS Principals
The General Education department has amended a controversial order issued a few days ago that required higher secondary Principals to do the job of clerks. Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty on Monday said in a social media post that directions had been given to amend the order in the wake of objections from teachers and Principals to certain portions of the order. The order said that there were no jobs in higher secondary that required a full-time clerk. It was to do these jobs that the teaching hours of Principals had been reduced to eight periods a week. Moreover, higher secondary teachers did not have more than two hours of teaching a day on an average. Therefore, the charge of school library could be given to a teacher, the order said. Reason for the order It had been issued while implementing an order of the High Court in connection with a petition filed by the manager of Valayanchirangara higher secondary school in Ernakulam seeking sanction of posts of clerk, librarian, and full-time menial employee. Higher secondary teachers and Principals pointed out the number of periods a teacher had to teach in a week, besides other responsibilities such as continuous assessment, lab activities and related work, exam work, higher secondary admissions, UDISE data collection, scholarship-related work, and so on. They also pointed out that they had to work even after school hours to complete their responsibilities. Owing to this, they were not getting enough time to connect with students and engage them in extra-curricular and personality development activities. Even as high school head teachers were appointed as school vice-principals by the government ahead of school unification, it did not deploy high school clerks, peons and menial staff to perform higher secondary office work, they pointed out. The government on Monday issued an amended order pointing out that since there was not enough work in higher secondary to warrant appointment of a full-time clerk in all schools, it was the Principal and teachers with less burden who were currently sharing the work. 'Financial commitment' It further said that since the government already had a huge financial commitment in the higher secondary section, sanctioning posts other than the most urgent to any school would create a precedent, creating even more financial burden for the government. However, teachers have again taken exception to the suggestion that higher secondary was creating a huge financial commitment for the government. The order made it sound as if higher secondary was not part of public education, the Higher Secondary School Teachers' Association said. It asked which study formed the basis of this conclusion by the government, and pointed out that public education could not be seen from the lens of profit and loss.
The Hindu
12-08-2025
- The Hindu
Deviant children emerging as a social concern in Kerala schools
A large number of teachers in Kerala are alarmed over a reported rise in instances of deviant behaviour among students, especially those in higher secondary classes in government schools, and have sought steps from the Education department and the police to address the social issue. Functionaries of the Higher Secondary School Teachers' Association (HSSTA), an organisation of teachers in government higher secondary schools, claim that such incidents have recently been reported from Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur, and Kasaragod, and other districts in the State as well. M. Riyas, State treasurer, HSSTA, says that a teacher at the Government Higher Secondary School, East Hill, Kozhikode, was physically attacked by a student and humiliated by his mother on August 6, in the course of a conversation to discuss his wayward behaviour. In 2024, a group entered the staff room of the Government Higher Secondary School, Pannur, and threatened teachers. Mr. Riyas says that another teacher was suspended from service recently based on a complaint by a girl student, after he spotted her copying during an examination. In 2023, the front door of one teacher's house was set on fire after he took action against a student for ragging at the Government Higher Secondary School, Puthuppady. The head of another woman teacher at the same school was smashed against a wall for intervening in a clash between students, he says. A psychologist working in the Health department, who wished not to be quoted, says that many children are found to be struggling to control themselves now. 'Too much screentime is affecting their attention span, patience, and respect for limits. Children are not used to discipline because of poor parenting. There are cases of parents being overprotective or they are not setting rules at home. Peer pressure among students and the increasing use of drugs is making the situation worse, as these can lead to aggression and poor decision-making. Without strong guidance from both home and the school, children often test their limits and disrespect authority,' he says. Laws such as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act are also reportedly being misused by a section of students and parents. 'The teachers are scared that if they raise their voice or correct a child, they might face complaints, departmental action, or legal trouble. This fear has taken away the authority the teachers once had. As a result, the students are less afraid of breaking rules,' the psychologist points out. Poor attention span, impulsive decision-making, low empathy, and reduced problem-solving skills are the psychological issues they face while sleep disturbances, eye strain from excess screen time, headaches, fatigue, and health risks from substance abuse are the physical issues they encounter with, he adds. While the police has been accused of being lethargic towards the issue, there is also a demand to strengthen initiatives such as Our Responsibility to Children, a project under the Department of Women and Child Development to identify and scientifically address deviancies and other vulnerabilities of children and integrate them to the social mainstream.
The Hindu
23-06-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Students complain of errors in Plus Two mark lists
Students have complained of errors in Plus Two mark lists that they received from schools the past few days. Teachers said students had pointed out errors in continuous evaluation marks on their mark list that had reached schools for distribution. Students said the total of their Plus One and Plus Two continuous evaluation marks in a subject were incorrect. Problem with delay Teachers' organisations alleged that these errors would prevent students from submitting their mark list for higher education. Recalling them and issuing new ones would lead to delays, particularly for students who had taken admission to courses outside the State and the country. The Higher Secondary School Teachers' Association sought a detailed investigation into the incident and strict action against those responsible. Less than 10% Officials at the Directorate of Higher Secondary Education admitted that errors had crept into the mark lists. However, less than 10% of the mark lists had these errors, they said. They said errors had been reported only in the continuous evaluation marks of the fourth of six subjects on the mark list of the respective streams. These crept in when the data had been mapped by the printing firm and copied onto another software for printing the mark lists. At this juncture, the continuous evaluation marks obtained in Plus One had been incorrectly repeated for Plus Two, though the total marks were not affected. The firm had agreed to rectify the errors for free. The corrected mark list would reach schools beginning Tuesday, they said.
