Porvorim: In a recent meeting, AGSSTA President Savio Suraj Victoria, accompanied by EXCO members, urged the Director of SCERT to retain the current school timings, arguing that the existing schedule already surpasses the requirements set forth by the National Curriculum Framework (NCF). The meeting aimed to address the proposal to alter school hours in light of the NCF and NEP guidelines.
AGSSTA presented detailed data to support their stance. The NCF proposes 34 working weeks with 180 instructional days, equating to approximately 986 hours of instruction annually, with around 29 hours of instruction per week. In contrast, the current schedule in Goa encompasses 37 working weeks with 200 instructional days, totaling 1221 hours of instruction annually. This schedule exceeds not only the NCF’s requirements but also the 1050 hours suggested by the Goa NEP Committee.
The association argued that the NEP’s goals of reducing school hours and curriculum content to alleviate student burden can be achieved without increasing the existing school timings. This adjustment would allow students to engage in extracurricular activities after school hours, aligning with the NEP’s vision.
Former AGSSTA President and legal advisor, Mr. Dattatray Naik, emphasized that teachers are already working well beyond the stipulated hours. According to the RTE Act 2009, teachers are expected to work a minimum of 45 hours per week, which includes 7.5 hours per day. However, teachers currently work over 48 hours a week. Their daily workload comprises more than 3.5 hours of direct instructional time, as mandated by the Goa School Education Act, 1986, in addition to over 2 hours spent on supervised studies, remedial teaching, correcting assignments, and preparing lessons using their own resources.
AGSSTA also highlighted the significant, unpaid time teachers devote to co-curricular activities, including organizing and accompanying students to competitions, events, and educational tours. This additional work, which extends beyond school hours, is often not recognized in their official workload calculations, nor are teachers compensated for these efforts. In some instances, teachers bear the expenses themselves. Furthermore, teachers are required to spend at least 50 hours annually on Continuous Professional Development (CPD) through the DIKSHA portal, again using their personal devices.
In the memorandum, AGSSTA brought to light the issue of some institutions compelling teachers to work during vacations and beyond regular school hours for extra classes and remedial teaching. The Director acknowledged these concerns and admitted that the authorities were not fully aware of the extent of these issues.
AGSSTA’s detailed presentation underscores the extensive commitment of teachers and the sufficiency of the current school schedule, advocating for its retention to maintain a balanced workload and allow for the holistic development of students.
