Nearly a month after the education department ordered teachers across Delhi government schools “to adopt and supervise” the academic progress of around three-four Class 10 and 12 students who joined the classes in September, teachers are working extra-time to ensure no student is left behind.
Taking note of the hundreds of students of classes 9 and 11 who passed after re-examination and were able to join classes for grades 10 and 12 only in September, the Directorate of Education (DoE) in a circular released last month asked teachers to “monitor and supervise their academic progress and support them emotionally and socially.”
“These students, who currently might not be academically at par with the other average students of the same class, deserve utmost attention and care,” said Additional Director Education Saroj Sain in a notice released on October 8. “All the teachers of the school will adopt 3 to 4 such students…The teacher will also provide the subject-specific support wherever and whenever required, to gear up the academic performance.”
Neelima Bhatia, who is a postgraduate trained teacher (PGT) at a government girl’s school in Sultanpuri, has been teaching for over two decades. She said that since the girls in her school are first-generation learners, teachers have to put in more effort to counsel families as well.
“I have four children under my responsibility. Most of the children here are first-generation learners. Since the parents are helpless, the teachers become the only source for learning and well-being of students. Keeping their learning levels in mind, we have prepared different support materials and guide them accordingly so that they secure passing marks. The focus is on breaking the curriculum into simpler concepts for them,” she said.
“Most students attend these online class for class 12 students and are unable to understand the concepts taught in English. They come to us with these queries and we help them identify key concepts and phrases so that they can follow the lessons better. Sometimes, the students also come to school in groups of one or two to resolve their queries,” she said.
Vandana Mittal, who is a Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT) of mathematics at Sarvodaya Co-ed Vidyalaya in Rohini’s Sector 8, said the teachers are now available on their phones “24x7.”
“There are around 150 such students in our school who were promoted to Class 10 on the basis of grace marks and re-examination. These children have been adopted by teachers and along with focusing on their own subject, we also provide them assistance on other subjects or connect them with the subject-specific teacher,” said Mittal.
“We need to focus more on these students since their base is not very strong and there is a kind of phobia with respect to exams and approaching teachers. Each teacher is responsible for eliminating that and encouraging students to study,” she said.
Teachers across the board said the reduced CBSE board examination syllabus will help cover the syllabus. “Most of these students use their fathers’ smartphones, which often are only available at night. Sometimes, they message us at 11pm as well, and we do respond to their queries,” Mittal said.
Sanjana Soni, who is TGT science teacher at a government school in New Kondli, said, “It requires more effort to push these low-performing students because often they don’t take as much initiative in asking questions as students whose academic performance is better. Apart from regular videos, we record videos on different topics and send them to them which helps in personalised learning.”
Soni said teachers were also approaching parents to discuss the academic progress of their children. “Some low-performing students are also coming to school in groups of two-three students with parents’ consent, masks and sanitisers alternatively. Though the lessons are short in duration, it helps them learn better compared to online learning,” she said, adding that every teacher focusing on 2-3 teachers was helping students get “focused attention.”
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