Principals oppose timing of ICT workshop

The Mumbai Principals' Association on Tuesday has written to the Maharashtra State Education Department objecting to the compulsory workshop for Class 9 and 10 teachers in the middle of ongoing Board exams and evaluation work.

On Monday the education inspector of Mumbai-North zone sent out a circular to all its schools asking them to send at least one of their Class 9 and 10 teachers for a workshop on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan. The workshop is scheduled between March 22 and 24, from 10 am to 5 pm.

Principals from the city have raised concerns over such a training being organised in the middle of ongoing Board exams. "The department has organised a compulsory workshop at Dadar in the middle of Board exams. At this point all the teachers are busy with supervision duty and paper checking work. How can they be expected to attend this full day workshop in the middle of all this?" asked Redij, head of the Principals' Association and the principal of Hilda Castelino School, Kandivali.

The Social Science I paper (History and Political Science) for SSC is scheduled for March 22. Redij said that while the Association has no issues with any training or workshop, the Education department should coordinate with the principals, and should check their existing schedules before conducting such programmes.

Anil Sable, Education Inspector North Zone said that the workshop could not be postponed as it is organised for guiding teachers on the ICT curriculum before the new academic year starts. "We have only asked one teacher from each school to attend the workshop and it wont be much of an inconvenience," said Sable.