TN: Matric schools may not USE new textbooks

CHENNAI: Citing several reasons that range from non-availability of Samacheer Kalvi textbooks (English medium) to no penalisation clause for not using government-approved books, several matriculation schools in the State have hinted they will be using the books designed for the old syllabus.The Madras High Court, in its April 30, 2010 order, had demanded that schools use those books by private publishers that have been approved by the academic authority for Samacheer Kalvi, or else, buy the Tamil Nadu Textbook Corporation books. Several schools in the city are, however, likely to continue with the old textbooks that are being followed for the past two months. “The syllabus followed by Matriculation schools previously was of a higher standard than the new ones under the Uniform System of Education (USE). So, we are using those existing books, which also cover the Samacheer Kalvi syllabus and include a tad extra,” said KR Nandhakumar, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Nursery, Primary, Matriculation and Higher Secondary Schools’ Association. He also observed that government textbooks in English medium were not readily available. Siddhartha, who runs the Siddhu Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Madurai, told Express that there was no penal provision mentioned by the Madras High Court in its 2010 order against schools that did not opt for the government-approved private publishers.“The existing books cover most of the Samacheer Kalvi syllabus and my school will follow only those books this academic year. There are a few portions under the Samacheer Kalvi syllabus that are not covered in the old books, like a lesson on Dravidian parties in History books and certain portions of geometry and patterns in Maths. We plan to issue USE study material for them alone,” he said.The government has only recently published a list of 62 private publishers and their books for different classes that can be used under the USE. “We have to ask our teachers to leaf through these books and then place orders with the private publishers. This will delay the process of getting books for the students, who have already spent more than a month and a half without textbooks,” said Venkattasala Pandian, general secretary of the Association of Matriculation Higher Secondary Schools and Managements in TN and Puducherry.  Another legal argument in favour of those schools favouring old books is that the State Common Board of School Education (SCBSE) is not the notified academic authority under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. “The actual authority is the Directorate of Teacher Education Research and Training, but it was the SCBSE that approved the private publishers. It is not binding to follow the private publishers’ list published by a non-notified body,” argued another Matriculation school authority.