Chennai: Concerns have been raised that the academic quality of Plus 1 and Plus 2 students could suffer as some headmasters are not taking classes as expected.
A section of headmasters said Tamil Nadu’s education rules require headmasters of high and higher secondary schools to handle 10 teaching periods a week, while assistant headmasters are expected to take 20 periods. They also have to monitor 20 periods a month to ensure other teachers are teaching properly and record the observations in a mobile application. Other teachers are to be assigned 28 periods a week.
However, they pointed out that the government-issued handbook for headmasters assigns assistant headmasters 14 teaching periods a week, with the remaining time meant for administrative work alongside the headmaster. This difference—20 periods in the rules versus 14 in the handbook—has led to disputes over workload allocation.
With headmasters and assistant headmasters also required to manage office duties, they said it becomes difficult to conduct classes during the periods allotted to them. They added that no alternate teachers are appointed for those subjects, affecting students.
They urged the government to appoint additional teachers and office staff based on student strength to ensure both teaching and administrative responsibilities are handled without impacting learning outcomes.
