Leaders of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Teachers’ Organisations (FAPTO) have demanded that the government drop its school restructuring programme as it would further contribute to school drop-out rate among students and would curtail the number of teacher posts.
At a press conference, federation Chairman G.V. Narayana Reddy and Secretary General K. Narahari pointed to circular 172 on the proposed ‘reforms’ the government intends to introduce and urged the authorities to allow the existing school education structure to continue.
The leaders said they were not against the proposal to link pre-primary schools to the primary schools and addition of plus-two education in high schools. But deviating from the primary school structure, which has been existing for last 75 years in the State, and bringing in fundamental changes may weaken the primary education system, they said.
Merger of Classes 1 and 2 in Anganwadi centres and calling them Foundation schools and integration of Classes 3, 4 and 5 in the nearest high schools was not a practical move, they argued.
They said instead of sending their children to a school located at a distance of 3 km, parents of students in Classes 3,4 and 5 would prefer sending them to private institutions. The Federation leaders said these proposals were against the spirit of the Right to Education Act and the National Education Policy.
