ITDA to step up education in Adilabad

NEW BEGINNING: Children attending classes in a G.V.V.K. School in Indranagar of Talamadugu mandal in Adilabad district.

UTNOOR (ADILABAD DT.): Complacency towards education has not crept into the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) at Utnoor, despite a fairly competitive SSC pass percentage of about 81 in 2008. As the academic year progresses, the Agency is slated to take new measures to further improve the standards in tribal education institutions.

"Our efforts towards improvement of education standards in tribal schools will include filling up of vacant teacher posts and subjecting teachers to a week-long reorientation at the earliest.

Besides, we will implement an evaluation system for students in July", ITDA Project Officer Samuel Anand Kumar reveals his programme in a nutshell.

Evaluation test

The newly introduced evaluation system will be taken up in the 65 high schools and 58 upper primary schools in the agency. A test will be conducted for students and the performance in this test will form the basis for grouping them.

Students who are found to be in need of special attention will be made to attend remedial classes.

The vacancies will be filled up with contract residential teachers (CRT) this month itself. The State Council of Education Research and Technology (SCERT) will undertake the reorientation and training of teachers a few days from now. The CRTs will also be trained in handling drop out students, especially girls, who will be admitted to the kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas. The ITDA also has proposals to improve the infrastructure facilities wherever these are required.

Teacher absenteeism

"Teacher absenteeism is one of the major factors that adversely affects education in tribal institutions besides teachers not staying locally. We have already warned such teachers and continuance of the old practice will only be dealt with suitable action against them", the Project Officer adds.

Among the other aspects that also have an impact on education are the health of students and sanitation of schools that the ITDA will address this academic year. "The school health programme will be taken up in a big way this year. The importance of health and hygiene are to be told to children effectively ", observed Mr. Anand Kumar while talking about the importance of these aspects.

"Through these measures, the ITDA expects to set right paradoxes like students not performing well in a tribal school where teaching is done by a winner of the Best Teacher National award", quips an officer of the Tribal Education department.