Completion of Class 10 syllabus delayed

VELLORE: The new Uniform System of Education has caused havoc for students and teachers in the district as they struggle to cope with the syllabus after the late implementation of the system. Completion of the syllabus under the USE for class 10 has been delayed by two months in Vellore. Teachers, students and the school administration had to work throughout the year in order to get into the new pattern. Many teachers say that it has been a challenge for them.Some schools are still conducting classes and they expect to complete the syllabus only by this week. Following the Supreme Court directive on the implementation of the USE, teachers had to work extra hard to complete the syllabus as many changes were made to the textbooks. A headmaster of a government school in Vellore said, “Since the classes in the district begin at 8.30 am, many teachers  found it difficult as they had to reach school early.They said lack of in-service training for them has resulted in confusion. There was no training for class 10 teachers on the new system, exam pattern and teaching methods. They were forced to work overtime and sought more earned leave. State General Secretary of Tamil Nadu HS Graduate Teachers Association P K Veerasamy said since teachers had to work on weekends, we request the government to increase the number of earned leave days to 30 for teachers of classes 7 to 10, as textbooks for these classes were received late.