Nampally: Students at a loss as lessons over in a jiffy

Nampally: Students and teachers in junior colleges are finding it though after they were asked to switch back to the online mode of teaching with the recent directions of the State government to close the educational institutions.

The shortage of staff in the colleges turned hard for the lecturers to take an extra load of classes to complete the syllabus,though it has been already reduced by the Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE).

On the other hand, students remained a worried lot as the lecturers seem to be a hurry to complete the syllabus with lightning speeds to meet the deadlines.

Early on, at the beginning of the current academic year in June, hardly there were any classes held. Mohan, a commerce student of a private junior college in Kukatpally said that only two to three topics have been covered leaving about 50 per cent of the syllabus yet to be completed, and the final examinations were only a month away.

It may be mentioned here that the colleges had issued pink slips to the lecturers during the COVID lockdown as a measure of cost-cutting. However, only a few lecturers were hired after the physical reopening of the colleges.

Mostly, those hired were for the main subjects like science, mathematics, commerce etc. And, lecturers to teach language papers like Sanskrit were hired lately. In turn, the lecturers have not covered a single chapter, he added.

Expressing a similar view, Harshitha, a student of intermediate MPC from Madinaguda, said that due to lack of faculty at the beginning of my second-year intermediate, the practicals were not covered and even though when colleges were reopened, the lecturers seemed to find it difficult to take practical classes.

Our practical examinations are getting closer as only a few weeks are left. Even now, two subjects like chemistry and Maths are being taught by one lecturer. It is making it harder for lecturers to finish the syllabus on time and they are leaving important chapters, she said.

When contacted, Shubhangi (name changed), a lecturer at a private junior college located in SR Nagar, vouched for the students' woes and expressed helplessness in wake of shortage of staff.

"The burden is also on teachers as they have to cover two subjects and working with meagre salaries. The students are not happy with the way the syllabus is covered due to the lack of lecturers.

In many cases, the lecturers are forced to complete the chapters in a single day which normally takes a minimum of 15 days," she said.

Allaying fears of the students, TS BIE Secretary Syed Omer Jaleel said that a fresh schedule of examinations from May was sent for the approval of the State government. Besides, the Board has decided to hold examinations for Environmental Sciences and Ethics papers in the format of home assignment.

He further said that there was no proposal to promote the students without conducting examinations this time.

The TSBIE which has already provided study materials to the students is, however, yet to decide on the schedule of conducting practical examinations.