Teachers’ association objects to hasty NEP implementation, workload surge

Panaji: With the state having announced the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) in Class IX from the current academic year 2024-25, some secondary school teachers met the education director on Tuesday, objecting to the proposal to increase instructional hours. They said teachers will face a heavier workload.
The president of the All Goa Secondary School Teachers’ Association, Suraj Victoria, said that the teachers’ first objection was to the fact that state govt did not invite them for any consultation before deciding to implement the NEP.
“We have no objection to the NEP being implemented, but it has to be done in the proper way. Teachers are key stakeholders who were not consulted and a decision on implementing the NEP was taken by consulting only school heads,” Victoria said. “The implementation should be in line with the provisions of the National Curriculum Framework. To our knowledge, the framework recommends 29 instructional hours per week, while Goa govt wants to implement 39 instructional hours.”
The teachers said the new syllabus will be provided to the schools only in late Aug, while schools reopen for the new academic year on June 4. They said this will create difficulties in implementing the changes. The teachers said that the model for the new timetable will be provided only on May 31, which is also very late to plan for the year ahead.
Dattatray Naik, a former president of the teachers’ association, said that the additional subjects in Class IX can be covered within the existing school timings, without extending the hours. Under the NEP, govt proposes to add vocational, art, and multidisciplinary education.
“Many of these subjects have only been regrouped. They are already being taught,” he said. “Take for instance, art education, computer education, and NSS.”
The association said the state’s education rules cap teachers’ workload at 29 hours, but the proposal moots a substantial increase at short notice.
Moreover, the teachers asked why the workload of mathematics has been reduced when Goa students are known to fare poorly in the subject, according to the National Achievement Survey.