Bridge classes at govt schools fail to address learning gaps 

Hyderabad: Teachers in government schools alleged that students of classes 1 to 5 are continuing with multi-grade learning, even after the completion of the first term exams, due to a lack of better plans to bridge learning gaps due to the Covid-19 outbreak-induced lockdowns and subsequent online classes.

They said that irrespective of their age or class, students are still learning basics, like multiplication, addition, reading and writing.

A teacher, requesting anonymity, said that class-specific special worksheets and activity sheets must be provided to students to help them grasp the basics and learn their current syllabus. However, the government has not taken any action in this regard despite several requests by teachers, the teacher said.

“Multigrade teaching is not new, but post Covid-19 outbreak, it has been very difficult for students to learn the textbook syllabus. It is like they have just come from their homes to schools after a two-year gap,” the teacher said.

Teachers said that a major reason for the continuing practice is poor infrastructure and severe staff crunch. In most instances, students of multiple classes are seated in one room, but only a few students grasp the teachings, a primary school teacher in the city said.

Another government teacher alleged that teachers were being pressurised as the school management would fire them if their names were revealed in news reports.

A fourth government school teacher, who has worked for over 20 years, said that teachers are not upgrading their skills as there is no training or new learning resources provided by the government.

“The training given to us is not very helpful. A government teacher from a different government school is training other teachers. Thus, nobody takes such training sessions seriously. There should be a separate consultant or a trainer, especially for government school teachers, who is an expert in the particular field,” the teacher said.