With just over a month remaining for the Class X board examinations, there is a sense of tension prevailing in every school. Every school is trying to ensure that all its students pass the examinations with flying colours, but given that all students learn at a different pace, there are still those that continue to struggle.
The students that need special attention often go for extra tuitions, but for those students that are not able to afford tuitions, the Union Territory of Puducherry School Teachers Association, along with the Puducherry Parents, Teachers and Students Association decided to step in and lend a hand.
“The problem with preparing for the Class X examinations is that students often do not have a study plan. Now, with around a month to go for their exams, students need a clear picture of what they need to study and how to go about it,” K. Thulasi ,veteran mathematics teacher and President of the Teacher’s Association told The Hindu.
The best thing to do is to come up with a study time table, splitting it across different subjects. Also, understanding what to study will make a world of difference, he said.
With an analysis of the previous year’s question papers and also some consultation with the teachers, it is possible to identify some important areas and questions in each of the subjects. Focusing on these areas will allow the student to make the maximum use of their time, he added.
Study aids
There are several study aids available everywhere these days.
Whether it is on the internet, or even from another student, utilising these study aids will help the students understand the subject better and be able to tackle the examinations with ease.
In every classroom, there will be a few students who struggle to understand the teacher’s method of teaching, no matter how good the teacher is. For these students, the parents play a crucial role in guiding them. If the parent takes an interest in the student’s education, it will be of great help to the child, he said.
Role of parents
It is for the children whose parents are unable to devote much attention to their children’s study that the two associations decided to step in and conduct a training program on the Class X curriculum. In the one-day programme, teachers from various government schools took a quick lesson in the important areas that students need to cover in each subject.
“We have been conducting this programme for several years, but this year we decided to do things differently. Through the programme, called Vetri Nichayam, we decided to focus on the students in government schools that are performing poorly. We asked the schools to identify students who had failed in three or more subjects in their quarterly and half-yearly examinations and invited them to come for this special programme,” M. Narayanasamy, head of the Parents, Teachers and Students’ Association said.
Private schools often conduct extra special classes to help students in need, but in government schools this is not possible, since there are several restrictions.
Most of the children that study here come from poor families where the parents are unable to help, and the schools also have certain restrictions on conducting special classes. These students, therefore, need all the help they can get.
The two associations came together and prepared a bank of important questions in each subject. In addition, the 250 students that attended the programme were given tips on how to tackle certain tricky questions. After 15 days, there will be a test for these children to see how much they have learnt, and then the associations will decide a future course of action, he said.
Students who want to get a copy of the question bank can ask at the Navalar Nedunchezhian Government School in Lawspet.
