Private School Association Demands State Teacher Awards For All Boards

The School Voice Association has submitted a petition to the School Education Minister in Chennai, requesting the government to institute the 'Tamil Nadu Best Teacher Awards' to recognize educators across all recognized school boards. The association, which represents private schools, is seeking to extend state-level honors to teachers in private and non-government institutions who are currently excluded from the state's official recognition systems.

The petition, represented by the association's General Secretary M.J. John Arokia Prabhu, proposed that the new state-level recognition should cover deserving teachers across all 38 districts of Tamil Nadu. The proposed awards would encompass a wide range of educational boards, including play schools, nursery and primary, matriculation, matriculation higher secondary, CBSE, CBSE Senior Secondary, IGCSE, and Cambridge International Schools.

In the petition, the association pointed out that the state government has historically awarded the Dr. Radhakrishnan Best Teacher Award to government school teachers since the 1970s. While this recognition was later extended to teachers in matriculation and Anglo-Indian schools, many other boards remain left out.

The association argued that the education landscape in Tamil Nadu has undergone vast changes over the decades. General Secretary M.J. John Arokia Prabhu noted that, according to recent reports, over 50 percent of the students in the state are now studying in private unaided schools.

The petition emphasized that thousands of highly dedicated teachers serving in these recognized private institutions contribute immensely to providing quality education. Despite their remarkable service, teachers belonging to several school boards do not have any opportunity to receive state-level recognition under the existing award structure.

To resolve this, the association suggested that the government establish awards divided into eight distinct categories. These categories would include play school teachers, nursery and primary school teachers, matriculation school teachers, matriculation higher secondary school teachers, CBSE school teachers, CBSE senior secondary school teachers, IGCSE school teachers, and Cambridge International school teachers.

Furthermore, the association requested the School Education Minister to create these awards for each of the state's districts. They also recommended the constitution of transparent District-Level Selection Committees to oversee the nomination and selection process for each category.