Teacher-student disconnect persists

The connect between the students and teachers is still lacking, especially among those who completed their Classes 1 and 2 in online mode, felt the teachers from across the region here.

According to K Avudayappan, a teacher from a panchayat union middle school in Tiruchy, the students in classes 2 and 3 are exposed to the physical school environment just now. Though there were online modes of education for these children, they feel as though fish out of water in the school and we find it very difficult to make them understand the school environment, he said.

He said there are still several students who availed of free textbooks are yet to come to the schools. “We fear that they might have quit schooling. Still, we can not justify the claim at this point in time but need to wait for at least a week more,” Avudayappan stressed.

While Amuthavalli, headmistress in a Government Higher secondary school in Tiruvarur said she had been receiving complaints about students always sitting in a dull mood with no interest in learning but having fear about infection. “We have asked our teachers to give them more physical training than mere lecturing,” she said.

Meanwhile, J Shiyam Sundar, Director of the Institute of Social Education told DT Next that the institute has started an elaborate study about the status of school children during post COVID period and they found that many students from the tribal schools have not come across the concept of online classes owing to the absence of facilities. “These students stare at the classrooms as many teachers had skipped the lessons they taught during the online classes. They are now worried about the upcoming examinations that feared to force them to drop schools,” he said.

“The teachers should undergo psycho-socio training which would ensure a healthy teacher-student relationship. A periodical inspection by the health officials is a must in all the schools,” he said.