TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: The government has shown resolve to stick to the seven-and-a-half hour work days for teachers and said that there was no way that it was going back on its school timings.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Wednesday told media that 70 per cent of the institutions had implemented the new timings and he would sit with the remaining 30 per cent on July 5 and sort out their difficulties.
“The government is firm (on school timings), but hassles or difficulties can be resolved,” the chief minister said, adding, “I am meeting them and on a case-to-case basis I will listen to them. And I will sort their grievances….After a lot of consultation we have taken the decision. The decision is well thought out.”
Arguing that there is no ego problem from the government side, he said that “problems will be taken care of.”
The new system is facing the flak from a section of parents and there are complaints that children reach home late, have to scramble for buses, have no time to attend coaching classes and presently also have no textbooks.
Parents have also complained that as per the new calendar system, holidays have been reduced considerably during summer.
The Directorate of education however defended its new calendar system for schools stating that Goa is far better than other States who have 247 instructional days as against 234 here in Goa.
Powar said Wednesday “Some reduction of around three to four days may be there,” denying that there were any major reductions.
He also said that schools have been given the liberty to chalk-out their working hours “and there is no hard and fast rule that there has to be uniformity in its implementation.”
After increasing school timings by 30 minutes for students, Goa government is now mulling on making seven-and-half hours of work compulsory for teachers, as per the Right to Education (RTE) guidelines.
Powar said that the department will be writing to the State government to notify the RTE schedule for teachers, which makes it compulsory for them to be in school for seven and half hours. The government has also made it clear that working hours for teachers from Classes I to XII are seven and half hours, during which they can take remedial classes under continuous comprehensive evaluation of the student or have extra-curricular activities.
The school time will remain at five-and-half hours, of which half hour is recess, although the teachers will have to spend two more hours in the school.
However, the government will have to notify the RTE schedule for teacher, before implementing the strict working hours.
Speaking on transfers of teachers Parrikar defended the transfers saying that they were not politically motivated and that they had looked into them for a year before taking any decision. Speaking on teacher and parent issues, he was categorical in saying that their focus was on the child and not the parent or the teacher. “Student is the central focus,” he said.
