Chennai: Chief education officers (CEOs) and district education officers (DEOs) have been assigned the responsibility of developing methods to enhance the performance of government schools, particularly in Classes X and XII. These methods include preparing school-wise performance reports and charting action plans for improvement.
Review Meeting Decisions
These decisions were finalized during the first review meeting chaired by School Education Minister Rajmohan with district chiefs and officials from the school education department on Friday. Officials have also been directed to seek assistance from the District Institute for Education and Training (DIET) to formulate strategies if necessary and keep district collectors informed.
School Education Director S Kannappan stated, “Most schools have already received individual reports. This quarter, CEOs and DEOs must devise an idea or initiative and implement it in schools and at the district level to boost performance. They need to discuss with heads of low-performing schools, identify gaps, and facilitate immediate redress.”
Regular inspections will be conducted, and school performance will be reassessed after the quarterly exams, he added.
State Performance in Board Exams
In this year’s board exams, the state achieved an overall pass percentage of 95.2% in Class XII and 94.3% in Class X. For government schools, the pass percentages were 92.16% in Class XII and 91.87% in Class X. However, 16 districts scored below the state average for Class XII, and 12 districts for Class X, with Chennai figuring in both lists.
Chennai Chief Education Officer M Kabir said, “The focus this year is on improving the district’s performance to match the state average. Our pass percentage has been improving steadily each year. Once we cross the state average, our rankings will jump by double-digit figures.”
School heads expressed cautious optimism. A school head from Chengalpet remarked, “In our district, we have been encouraged to hold headmasters’ meetings regularly to review and discuss strategies and for knowledge-sharing. We will have to wait and see what new strategies are proposed to boost performance.”
