Latest news with #Pugalendhi
Hans India
7 days ago
- General
- Hans India
TN launches daily practice sessions for Class 10, Class 12 students in low performing schools
To improve pass percentages in Class 10 and 12 public examinations, the Tamil Nadu School Education Department has rolled out a new initiative to provide daily practice questions to students in government schools across Chennai. As part of the plan, students will be given one-mark and two-mark questions every day to help reinforce subject knowledge and develop exam readiness. Senior education department officials said a panel of top educators will prepare the questions, which will be distributed to schools for daily sessions. 'Headmasters and assistant headmasters have been tasked with ensuring that students engage with these practice questions regularly. The goal is to develop consistent study habits and improve familiarity with the syllabus,' said a senior official from the department. To complement this effort, monthly assessments will be conducted to identify 'slow learners'. Those students will then receive focused remedial training to help close learning gaps. In addition, the department will pay special attention to schools that recorded lower pass percentages in the most recent board exams. 'A block-wise analysis will be carried out to identify underperforming schools,' said Pugalendhi, a senior official involved in the initiative. 'Headmasters and assistant headmasters of such schools will receive counselling and guidance on how to improve student outcomes. These measures will be implemented with urgency over the next two to four months,' he said. The intervention follows disappointing performances by Chennai's government schools in this year's board results. The city ranked 37th in the SSLC (Class 10) examinations with a pass percentage of 82.84, and 35th in the Higher Secondary (Class XII) results with 87.86. However, the initiative has drawn criticism from educationists who warn against a purely marks-driven strategy. Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary of the State Platform for Common School System, said the approach mimics the private school model without addressing deeper educational needs. 'Prioritising marks over meaningful learning sends the wrong message,' he said. 'Students should be encouraged to understand the purpose of education. Once that is achieved, improved results will naturally follow. The focus should first be on strengthening infrastructure and ensuring government schools offer facilities on par with private institutions,' he said. Despite the criticism, the government plans to aggressively pursue the strategy in the coming months to bridge academic gaps and raise overall learning standards in state-run schools.
Time of India
7 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Daily mock tests to prepare Class X, XII GCC students
Chennai: To increase the pass percentage of Class X and XII students in govt schools across the city, officials have decided to offer them one-mark and two-mark questions for practice every day. "An executive meeting, involving top authorities will prepare questions and circulate it to schools. Headmasters and assistant headmasters have been tasked with ensuring students go through these questions on a daily basis. The move is intended to get students accustomed to the syllabus and learning on a daily basis," chief education officer A Pugalendhi told TOI. Assessment exams will be conducted monthly for students to identify "slow learners," who will then be offered special training. Steps have also been taken to focus on schools that recorded a lower pass percentage in this year Class X and XII results. "A block-level analysis will be done, and schools will be identified. Headmasters and assistant headmasters of such schools will be provided counselling and tips on dealing with students, ensuring that they pass," Pugalendhi said, adding that these steps would be vigorously pursued in the next two to four months to ensure strict adherence. State Platform for Common School System general secretary and educationist Prince Gajendra Babu, however, contends that a mark-based approach towards education will set a bad precedent. "This approach is akin to the one followed by private schools. The right approach will be to make students realize the importance of education. That, in turn, will automatically reflect in the pass percentage. Besides, govt schools must first offer facilities to students on a par with private schools. That must be the primary focus, instead of striving for a 100% pass rate," he said. In this year's SSLC (Class X) and Higher Secondary (Class XII) results, in terms of district-wise performance of govt schools, Chennai ranked 37 with a pass percentage of 82.84 and 35 with a pass percentage of 87.86, respectively.
New Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Amend TNPID Act, allow IOs attach properties in financial fraud cases: Madras High Court
MADURAI: Observing that District Revenue Officers (DROs), who are authorised to file attachment applications, are overburdened resulting in delay in attaching and selling properties of accused persons in financial fraud cases, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has directed the state government to take steps to amend the relevant provisions of the Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors (TNPID) Act, 1997, delegating the power to investigating officers. Justice B Pugalendhi gave the direction while hearing a batch of petitions filed by some of the victims in a case registered by Economic Offences Wing, Madurai, against Apsal India Pvt Ltd and its sister concerns, which allegedly lured depositors promising high returns but cheated them. The petitioners alleged delay in the investigation and sought to speed up the same or transfer the probe to some other agency. The judge pointed out that in cases of the above nature, if the government is satisfied that a financial establishment is not likely to return the deposits, the designated officers under TNPID Act, namely the DROs, can pass an interim order of attachment attaching the money or other properties of such financial establishments and later file an application before the Special Court within 30 days to make the attachment order absolute. They can also seek a direction to sell the attached properties through public auction so that the amount could be returned to the victims. However, since DROs are already overburdened with other works, there is a delay in filing attachment applications, the judge noted and gave the above direction to enable the investigating officers to file the applications directly. Justice Pugalendhi further recalled that in 2020, the court had appointed a committee under a retired HC judge to ensure the deposits are returned to the victims. But the chairman of the committee recused himself from the post in 2023 citing non-cooperation by the company. While explaining the delay in investigation, the investigation officer (IO) contended that based on the court's direction, EOW had been only assisting the committee all these years and after the chairperson's recusal, they have sought a clarification from the court on further course of action. Rejecting this as a lame excuse, Justice Pugalendhi observed that the appointment of committee did not preclude the IO from investigating the case. Since the accused persons had obtained bail and anticipatory bail by undertaking to co-operate with the committee and later failed to do so, the judge advised the IO to move necessary applications to cancel their bail. Further noting that the case has been pending since 2017, the judge directed the IO to expedite the probe and file final report, preferably within six months.
