PANJIM: Savio Suraj Victoria, who is the president of All Goa Secondary School Teachers Association (AGSSTA) has questioned the government’s decision to increase the school hours for students in secondary schools due to implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) for standard IX from the new academic year.
In a letter written to Secretary (Education), Victoria, asked, “The idea of increasing the school hours is illogical and without the backing of any research. The idea of imposing increased school hours has no support of any school of thought or any philosophical ideology. Thus, the claim to impose increased school hours has no reasonable justification and is just the proclamation of ignorance of the objectives of our Educational Policy and Educational Act of the people who are trying to impose increased school hours and are trying to play with the future of my beloved children and my beloved students and ultimately destroy the educational system.”
Questioning that which section of NEP 2020 or RTE Act 2009 or Goa School Education Rule mandates 1,200 hours of compulsory instruction and which section of the Act or Rule says that child should compulsorily attend instruction provided by the school, Victoria has said that his child should get to take the instruction that he or she wants nor should be forced to take instruction that he or she doesn’t want.
“Forcing my child to take instructions or do anything against his or her wishes is violation of child’s right to indulge in activities of his choice and will attract appropriate penal action against the head of the institution or whoever violates the rights of my children. If my child doesn’t want to take instructions of a particular teacher/s he/she should be free to leave the class,” Victoria said in capacity as a parent.
“If my child wants to go to play/coaching/tuitions/any other activity of his/her choice, no one has the right to deny him/her this right resulting in the violation of child’s right. Allowing child to do what he wants will be application of NEP in true sense,” he said.
According to Victoria, the idea of increasing the school hours is illogical and without the backing of any research. The idea of imposing increased school hours has no support of any school of thought or any philosophical ideology. Thus the claim to impose increased school hours has no reasonable justification and is just the proclamation of ignorance of the objectives of our Educational Policy and Educational Act of the people who are trying to impose increased school hours and are trying to play with the future of my beloved children and my beloved students and ultimately destroy the educational system, he said.
