The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Need for regular training of teachers stressed

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Thursday, May 29, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Need for regular training of teachers stressed

Staff Reporter

Teachers and students are the most important stake holders,
says Minister

Photo: N. Sridharan

Having a word: School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu and State project director of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan M.P. Vijayakumar at the inauguration of a training programme for primary education officers function held in Chennai. —

CHENNAI: Teachers and students are the most important stake holders in our education system. Elementary Education Officers, Assistant Elementary Education Officers (AEEOs) and District Elementary Education Officers are the vitals links that ensure welfare of both teachers and students, according to Thangam Thennarasu, School Education Minister.

Inaugurating a three-day-long management training programme for the newly-transferred AEEOs here on Tuesday, the Minister said they were entrusted with great responsibility and every decision of theirs would affect the teaching and learning process directly.

Emphasising the need for training teachers and education officers on a regular basis, Mr. Thennarasu said “Even in our proposal document to the Centre, we have stressed on teacher-training.”

“The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) wing of the State’s School Education Department has been sanctioned Rs.902 crore. You play a major role in ensuring that this huge amount translates to tangible benefits to students and teachers,” he told the participating AEEOs.

The department was also in the process of computerising its entire data base to achieve complete e-governance and transparency in administration, he said. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) is partnering the department in the computerisation initiative, which costs nearly Rs. 1.5 crore, free of cost, officials said.

Earlier this month, the counselling for transfers of AEEOs was held through the EDUSAT facility. “We should tap technological developments to enhance the performance of our department,” he said.

Director of Elementary Education and State Project Director of the SSA M.P. Vijayakumar said the training, being offered to over 100 AEEOs, would be largely interactive.

It was an initiative through the State Institute of Educational Management and Training (SIEMAT). “After taking over as the Director of Elementary Education, I must have received nearly 500 petitions from teacher associations. All of them were legitimate requests. Not even one request was unreasonable,” he said.

Seeks feedback

Earlier, Mr. Vijayakumar sought feedback from teachers on various programmes. While discussing the Activity-based Learning Methodology introduced in primary sections, a section of teachers felt the programme was received very well in schools that had a small strength and not as well in schools with many students.

They felt the Active Learning Methodology had improved classroom learning significantly.

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