The Hindu : Front Page : Textbooks a thing of the past for Kannada medium students ?

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Monday, Jul 20, 2009
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Textbooks a thing of the past for Kannada medium students ?

Karthik Madhavan

The absence of books has had an impact on the students’ performance
The reason the students do not have books is because the Government has not printed any

ERODE: Over 400 students of two Government-run Kannada medium schools in the Sathyamangalam hills: Government Higher Secondary School, Thalavady and Government Higher Secondary School, Panakahalli, depend completely on the notes the teachers give in the absence of books.

The Thalavady school has 113 students in Plus One and 108 in Plus Two, while the Panakahalli school 160 in Plus One and 105 in Plus Two.

Notebooks are their be all and end all of education, except for Kannada and English, for which the Government gives textbooks. This has been so for about a decade now, say sources in the schools.

The absence of books has had an impact on the students’ performance. Failures are common and in the recent past the pass percentage has been as poor as less than 25.

The reason the students do not have books is because the Government has not printed any. An official of the Tamil Nadu Text Book Corporation says the organisation prints books only based on Government order. And, as Government order from the School Education Department is yet to come by for printing subject books in Kannada for the higher secondary students, the Corporation has not printed any.

The officer adds that in case of linguistic minority students, the Corporation has gone out of the way to print just 20 or 25 books. But then again only on instructions from the Government Department.

Efforts to reach the Director of School Education proved futile. But sources in the Erode branch of the Department say the Government did conduct a book writing exercise early this year and that the Department will soon give Kannada subject books to the students.

The Government’s School Education Department, however, provides books in Kannada to students from Standard six to 10.

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