First mega PTM makes Delhi government schools buzz

New Delhi: Radharaman, an e-rickshaw driver, finally visited his daughter’s school and met her teachers on Saturday after shunning the end-of-month parent-teacher meetings (PTM) and result days for years. “I had work,” he said sheepishly, returning home satisfied that his daughter is doing fine.
Like Radharaman, many other parents also trooped to Government Girls’ Secondary School (GGSS) in F1-F2 block of Nand Nagri Extension, on Saturday.For the school staff, who are used to only 20-30% parent participation, the day’s 80% turnout was overwhelming. “We saw more parents today than we do when we distribute money (scholarships, etc),” said principal Kamlesh Bhatia.
Thousands of parents braved the rain to attend Saturday’s ‘Mega PTM’ at Delhi government-run schools. At several places, they arrived before the start time of 8am. And school authorities hope this newfound interest will translate into greater involvement of parents and better supervision at home.
Schools had a carnival atmosphere for the full-day PTM. Handmade invites were sent out, and student volunteers gave a royal welcome with tea and refreshments. Music played in the background. The GGSS bought a tea dispenser on Friday just for this meeting.
Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya (RPVV) in Nand Nagri—a premier government school with an entrance test, class-strength capped at 35 and regular PTMs—had a presentation, a ‘portfolio’ for each child and a special address by principal Rakesh Semalty. At Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya (SBV) in Nangloi, mentor teacher Sundara Devi read poetry for parents while students showered them with flowers. And at Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School (GGSSS), Block A, Nand Nagri, the school management committee led by security guard Ashok Kumar facilitated discussions. The school has only 67 teachers against 90 posts. With Delhi government’s education programme Chunauti 2018 and its grouping scheme increasing the demand for teachers, even their librarian is teaching.
The advertising blitz helped make the programme a success. Reshma, whose daughter Vijayalakshmi is in Class IX at GGSSS, received an invitation and radio ads kept it on top of her mind. “Earlier, we wouldn’t get to know. At least now we know exactly where our kids are weak,” she said about the PTM. “Most students don’t inform parents because usually there are exam results to discuss and they are scared,” said mathematics teacher Monika Sharma. The school’s mentor teacher Deepti Chawla said children are even beaten at home for poor results.
“In routine PTMs, parents meet just the class-teachers. Today, many will come to know how many subjects their children study in school,” said GGSS science teacher Nisha Verma. Parents’ disconnect was apparent when Semalty informed a father complaining about his daughter’s diffidence that she is the school’s cultural secretary.
The PTM also gave teachers a peek into their students’ background. “Many skip classes because for household chores and minding siblings. A woman told us today she keeps her daughter home whenever she is ill. The girl is a bright student,” said GGSS mathematics teacher Neeta Gupta. Issues of health, nutrition, absenteeism and supervision at home were all discussed.
The PTM was primarily called to explain to parents the division of students into performance-based groups under Chunauti 2018. Class IX students are split into three groups—Vishwas, Nishtha and Pratibha—while those in classes VI to VIII are placed in two groups.
Manjesh, a Class VIII student, was moved to the group for struggling children at GGSSS. Her mother Sonkali, a tailor, said, “They should not have separated the children but what can I do if my child is not learning? At least now she will get more attention.”
Some school management committee (SMC) members expressed doubts about the division of students. Jitender Kumar, SMC-member of GBSSS, JJ Colony Nangloi, said, “Parents think the Vishwas syllabus is easier than that for Nishtha, and some have requested that their children be shifted to it.”
The Vishwas group will be enrolled with Patrachar Vidyalaya and write the Class X exam for which clearing Class IX is, apparently, not required. Usha Verma was upset about her son Falgun being placed in Vishwas at Government Co-Ed Senior Secondary School, Punjabi Basti. “He could not focus due to domestic problems,” she said. GGSS has 209 students in Vishwas while GGSSS A-Block Nand Nagri has 104. “Only some have understood the concept of the change,” said principal Freda J Baxler.
The Mega PTM got a lukewarm response at some schools, for instance the recently bifurcated GGSSS Sunder Nagri. Parents of only 16 of its 34 Class VIII (English-medium) students attended, and 27 of 87 in the Class VIII Urdu batch.
The PTM forced school authorities to confront issues raised by parents. At RPVV, some parents spoke about damaged furniture, power supply issues and lack of history textbooks. At SBV Nangloi, which has over 800 students in Class IX alone, there were complaints about infrastructure, especially the exposed wiring. Renu Misra, SMC member of another school, complained that her daughter was “threatened” and that the “teachers forced her to clean the school toilets.”