The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Plea to abolish multiple boards of education

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 10, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Plea to abolish multiple boards of education

Special Correspondent

"A single State Board covering all schools adequate"

CHENNAI: The Campaign for Equal (common) Standards of School Education has demanded that the Government's Samacheer Kalvi Committee recommend the abolishing of multiple boards of education.

A single State Board covering all schools would adequately address the educational needs of all children, representatives of the Campaign have said in a memorandum submitted to committee chairperson Muthukrishnan. The Campaign is a coalition of different organisations committed to the cause of "Common School System" towards ensuring compulsory quality, free, equal education to all children up to the age of 18 years.

Touting the decision of the Government in setting up the committee, members of the organisation said, "It is a definitive step in the direction of creating an education system with equal standards and a common school system." They urged the chairperson to consider their demands favourably.

No to private schools

Yet another key demand of the organisation is to take education out of the private/commercial sector. "Within a period of 3 years the Government must ensure that only government schools existand all private schools are prohibited in school education system up to standard 12," the memorandum said.

While making the case for enforcing Tamil or the mother tongue (of the learner) as the medium of instruction, the members have also stressed that English, being a language of necessity, should be taught in all schools with greater efficiency.

Also they have demanded that the curriculum, school regulations and classroom practices be "learner-friendly," and devoid of punishment.

Need for Act

Also an Act should be enacted to implement the Samacheer Kalvi programme, to ensure that all children get equitable access to quality and free education, the petitioners have said. A budgetary allocation of 6 per cent of the gross domestic product should be made for school education and 50 per cent of this should be allocated for primary education.

A delegation of the Campaign met Dr. Muthukumaran on Thursday to submit their memorandum of demands.

The members of the team said he had assured them that the recommendations would be circulated to all the committee members and brought up for discussion at the next meeting of the committee.

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