PANAJI
An alleged miscommunication between the headmasters and teachers sparked a debate over instructional hours, with teachers opposing a 39-hour workweek in favour of a 29-hour week.
Sources told The Goan that the Education Department has been regularly holding meetings with stakeholders including school managements, headmasters, and parents ever since the draft NEP 2020 was circulated by the Central government.
However, a miscommunication between headmasters and teachers over the teaching hours led to the current situation, surprising even the authorities.
“Once the Centre released the draft for NEP, we involved all stakeholders -- managements, headmasters and parents -- and provided an opportunity to suggest changes to be submitted to the ministry or the department. Similar meetings were held with other stakeholders last year as well,” an official said.
However, teachers felt they were not consulted as the message likely did not effectively reach from the headmaster level to the teaching sector. This led the Goa Secondary School Teachers Association (GSSTA) to call upon the department and the SCERT to oppose the State Council of Educational Research and Training's (SCERT) provision of 39 working hours per week, citing a contrast with the National Curriculum Framework’s recommendation of 29 hours.
The association argued that the implementation of the NEP could proceed without extending school hours, prompting education officials to hold an exclusive meeting with association members on Thursday.
Education Secretary Prasad Lolayekar pointed to a communication gap and stated these concerns were addressed. “There was some communication gap or misinterpretation,” he said without elaborating further.
Meanwhile, the teachers also demanded not to sanction more teachers to which the officials responded that they would approve additional teachers if the management justifies the need, though they might be employed on a contract basis rather than permanently.
