123 Kolkata: Facing an unprecedented situation in which schools are being forced to close down their science classes and laboratories, the state higher secondary council on Friday urged schools to adopt the "cluster" hub-and-spoke model to tide over the immediate crisis.
A HS council official said, "There is no denying the fact that there is a scarcity of teachers at the higher secondary level, especially in the science stream. So, we can explore cluster solutions as and when required. It is also mentioned in the state education policy. Suppose there are four schools in an area but only one school has a physics teacher. So once a week, students of the four schools can do a physics class and lab for a longer time. If we apply this clustering solution, the current crisis can be managed somehow."
Across Bengal, science classes are on the verge of shutdown as the majority of the teachers who lost their jobs stopped going to schools. In Bankura's Sonamukhi BJ High School, four science teachers lost their services, leading to the closure of the school's science department.
The science department at Bongaon Kumudini High School in North 24-Parganas for Girls is facing a serious crisis following the dismissal of seven teachers and one Group-D staff member, as per a directive from the Supreme Court. Among those dismissed, three were science teachers, raising urgent concerns over the department's future. The Headmistress, Indrani Ukil Sarkar, said, "Other classes have resumed, but who will take the science classes or evaluate the answer scripts?"
The science classes of the secondary section at Atghara High School in North 24 Parganas will be immensely affected as the school lost its math, physical science, and life science teachers along with a Group D staff. "These teachers used to take science classes from Class five to ten. Without them, the school's science teaching will be badly impacted. I do not know who will take science classes in the secondary section," said teacher-in-charge Somnath Mondal.
Baisakhi Chattopadhyay, Headmistress of Gokarna Nritya Gopal Girls' High School (HS) in Murshidabad, said, "I will have to rethink whether we can take admission of students in the science stream in the next academic session because both my mathematics and life science teacher lost their jobs after the Supreme Court verdict. I do not have a sanctioned teaching post in higher secondary for science. These teachers used to take the HS classes. So I am at a loss as to how to manage the secondary and higher secondary science classes of the school with one physics and one biology teacher."
The situation worsened at Deganga Chourashi High School in North 24-Parganas, where the science department is on the verge of collapse following the termination of five science teachers and one para-teacher. Headmaster Shahriyar Alam said, "With all the science teachers losing their jobs at once, science classes have come to a near standstill, leaving science students in a serious crisis."
Kolkata: Facing an unprecedented situation in which schools are being forced to close down their science classes and laboratories, the state higher secondary council on Friday urged schools to adopt the "cluster" hub-and-spoke model to tide over the immediate crisis.
A HS council official said, "There is no denying the fact that there is a scarcity of teachers at the higher secondary level, especially in the science stream. So, we can explore cluster solutions as and when required. It is also mentioned in the state education policy. Suppose there are four schools in an area but only one school has a physics teacher. So once a week, students of the four schools can do a physics class and lab for a longer time. If we apply this clustering solution, the current crisis can be managed somehow."
Across Bengal, science classes are on the verge of shutdown as the majority of the teachers who lost their jobs stopped going to schools. In Bankura's Sonamukhi BJ High School, four science teachers lost their services, leading to the closure of the school's science department.
The science department at Bongaon Kumudini High School in North 24-Parganas for Girls is facing a serious crisis following the dismissal of seven teachers and one Group-D staff member, as per a directive from the Supreme Court. Among those dismissed, three were science teachers, raising urgent concerns over the department's future. The Headmistress, Indrani Ukil Sarkar, said, "Other classes have resumed, but who will take the science classes or evaluate the answer scripts?"
The science classes of the secondary section at Atghara High School in North 24 Parganas will be immensely affected as the school lost its math, physical science, and life science teachers along with a Group D staff. "These teachers used to take science classes from Class five to ten. Without them, the school's science teaching will be badly impacted. I do not know who will take science classes in the secondary section," said teacher-in-charge Somnath Mondal.
Baisakhi Chattopadhyay, Headmistress of Gokarna Nritya Gopal Girls' High School (HS) in Murshidabad, said, "I will have to rethink whether we can take admission of students in the science stream in the next academic session because both my mathematics and life science teacher lost their jobs after the Supreme Court verdict. I do not have a sanctioned teaching post in higher secondary for science. These teachers used to take the HS classes. So I am at a loss as to how to manage the secondary and higher secondary science classes of the school with one physics and one biology teacher."
The situation worsened at Deganga Chourashi High School in North 24-Parganas, where the science department is on the verge of collapse following the termination of five science teachers and one para-teacher. Headmaster Shahriyar Alam said, "With all the science teachers losing their jobs at once, science classes have come to a near standstill, leaving science students in a serious crisis."