Tag: Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu’s government schools go digital

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Editor’s note: This is the third of a four-part series on the state of government school education, based on the latest study by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) and CRY. The study focusses on six states – Bihar, Maharashtra, UP, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.

In the previous editions of ‘Get Schooled’, we highlighted the issue of severe shortage of teachers in government schools. In this part, we emphasise on improving the quality of education.

Tamil Nadu is the best performer out of the six states studied by the Centre for Budget & Governance Accountability in its latest research.

Its per child spending on school education is the highest, at almost Rs 23,000 per year, beating Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar – the other states covered in the study.

Despite that, 37 percent of the upper primary schools in Tamil Nadu don’t have subject teachers, CBGA said.

It is necessary to plug that loophole, especially since the state is veering towards conceptual learning.

“Our old system was more rote learning oriented, now we are moving towards conceptual learning that is where ICT smart classes come in. We are creating content which will help students understand concepts. We are also trying to use kits for science and maths,” said Pradeep Yadav, the school education secretary of Tamil Nadu.

The state has changed the textbooks for standards 1, 6, 9 and 11 this year.

They have introduced e-content with QR codes where students can find additional information on subjects taught in the class.

Like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu also uses the PPP method of teacher-training.

The difference is that, in Maharashtra, the private teachers were helping the government school teachers learn while in Tamil Nadu, it’s the reverse model.

“We never had untrained teachers in the Government set up but there were untrained teachers in private schools. We gave them a window on NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) where over 25,000 teachers have enrolled. Hopefully by 2019 every teacher, even in private schools will have a diploma and will be trained,” said Yadav.

The state government admits that there was skewed deployment of teachers, which they are correcting.

The number of contractual teachers is also low in Tamil Nadu. The incentives it gives teachers are working.

Asadullah, programme director, CBGA said, “Tamil Nadu has achieved the threshold of basic education. But there are several areas like the Nilgiris and coastal regions that are neglected.”

This school in a coastal area of Tamil Nadu, run by philanthropists, could be an example of providing quality education while ensuring low fees.

Financed by Maryam Salahuddin and managed by its other trustee Francis Joseph, Kannadi Vappa International School in Ramanathapuram provides low-cost education to the local Muslim students.

It hires teachers from different parts of the country because the ones in the region aren’t adequately qualified.

The principal Rajesh Kumar Krishnan, who has worked in Aurai, Raebareli and Vadodara, says the biggest challenge in running a school in a small town is that most children are first generation English speakers.

Teachers initially don’t get response in class because language is a big barrier.

“It was a big struggle for us, so we introduced a parallel curriculum,” said Krishnan.

A parallel syllabus is where students are first taught the English language through an elaborate internal curriculum.

After that, the attention is shifted to the standard subjects.

Joseph, who looks after the affairs of the school, doesn’t believe students who study in a vernacular medium are any less intelligent than the English medium students.

But he does think it would help them in their future jobs to learn other languages.

“A child asked me why he should learn Hindi and English when he spoke in Tamil at home. I called up his dad in Dubai who told me that he faced great difficulties working abroad because of not knowing English. The father said he didn’t want the same to happen to his son,” said Joseph.

The CBGA reports says the situation for subject teacher is favourable in Tamil Nadu as compared to other states.

And yet, the pupil-teacher ratio for English in the state is as high as 244:1.

The next step for Tamil Nadu is to increase the reach of its conceptual and digital learning programmes.

Albert Einstein once said, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”

Our system must also aim to reach the depth of every child’s mind while expanding geographically.

Read and watch other stories on Get Schooled series here.

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Maharashtra: Higher government spending = Better education?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Editor’s note: This is the second of a four-part series on the state of government school education, based on the latest study by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) and CRY. The study focusses on six states – Bihar, Maharashtra, UP, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.

In his speech at the state assembly this budget session, Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde started off by quoting the poet Galib, “Umra bhar Galib yahi bhool karta raha, dhool chehre pe thi, aur aina saaf karta raha.”

The minister was referring to the focus of his education policy.

Since Maharashtra has a ‘no detention policy’ till the eighth standard, he said, we must emphasise on quality of education over gross enrolment ratio.

He went on to say that out of every rupee the state receives, it spends 25 paise on education. Hence, the investment in education should give returns in the form of excellence.

The state’s high allocation to education over decades, does establish that it gives priority to education.

Centre for Budget & Governance Accountability (CBGA) says that the share of school education in the total budget of Maharashtra shows a steady picture in the last five years.

The per child spending on school education was Rs 21,100 in FY18, second highest out of the six states CBGA studied.

Tamil Nadu is the biggest spender at Rs 23,460 per student per year.

The government school teachers in Maharashtra are also among the highest paid in the country, with 82 percent of resources going into teachers’ salaries, allowances, pensions and incentives to both teachers and their children.

The high spending on teacher salaries and students is natural considering that Maharashtra is the richest state in India with a GDP of $380 billion.

Shalu Rathore, a cook living in Mumbai’s Saki Naka area, says government schools have certainly been helpful to her three daughters.

Till the primary level, she had to pay no fees and her daughters got school bags, uniform, books and mid-day meals all from school.

In secondary school, she paid less than Rs 150 a year as fees but had to provide other things.

“But I am finding it very difficult to pay my son’s education; he attends at private school. I pay over Rs 1,000 a month in addition to exam fees and computer class fees,” said Shalu.

Her eldest daughter Mohini scored 76 percent in SSC this year.

Shalu says her in laws who wanted to get Mohini married off five years ago, now want her to pursue a higher education. Mohini wants to be a fashion designer.

Her younger sister Pooja, who consistently scores high marks in exams, aims to be a doctor.

The girls say that teachers at school “aren’t bad” but in the same breath they add that without private tuition classes, it is impossible to understand concepts.

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are two states which have reported no untrained teachers.

But CBGA says only 23% upper primary schools have subject-specific teachers in the state.

“Schools have one teacher teaching all subject hence need for subject teachers is getting reduced. Hence states are not even appointing subject teachers…. There is a lack of English, Science and Maths teachers,” said CBGA researcher Protiva Kundu.

The shortage of subject-specific teachers has led to a grave situation in the state as Maharashtra has over 12,000 primary schools run by a single teacher.

The state’s education minister Tawde told the state assembly they are looking to merge schools with few students and teachers if they are within 1 km distance from each other.

Asadullah, programme director, CBGA, who worked at the union HRD ministry before, said, “The situation arises because there is not much of a career in teaching. Those who study science are becoming engineers.”

The other problem students of Maharashtra’s government schools face, including Shalu’s children, is that first to seventh standards are taught in one school and eight to tenth in another.

It often gets difficult for the students to commute to the new school, which may not always be nearby, and adjust to a new environment even as the level of studies becomes more difficult in high school.

Sparsh, an NGO affiliated with 16 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools, has filed a petition with CRY urging all schools in Maharashtra to conduct classes in one school, at least till the tenth standard.

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“Slight decline,” in Karunanidhi’s health, as DMK gears up for celebrating his 50th year as party chief

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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DMK president M Karunanidhi is facing a “slight decline” in his health, a hospital bulletin said, even as the party is gearing up for celebrating his 50th year as party chief on Friday.

“There has been a slight decline in the health of DMK president M Karunanidhi due to age related ailments,” a bulletin issued by Kauvery Hospital Executive Director Dr Aravindan Selvaraj said.

The 94-year-old leader is currently being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection with intravenous antibiotics and fluids.

“He is being monitored and treated round the clock by a team of medical and nursing professionals, who are providing hospital level care at his (Gopalapuram) home,” the bulletin said.

The hospital said considering his medical condition, the team has strongly advised restriction of visitors.

Earlier, in a letter to party workers, Karunanidhi’s son and DMK working president M K Stalin said, “Let us celebrate the golden jubilee of our leader assuming office as party chief.”

“Our beloved” leader shouldered the responsibility of heading the party as its president on July 27, 1969 after the death of DMK founder-leader C N Annadurai, Stalin said.

Hailing Karunanidhi for his ‘tireless’ work in steering the party for half a century, he listed the welfare initiatives launched by his father during his five terms as chief minister.

Karunanidhi worked “without any respite” all his life, Stalin said, adding that “time has given some rest,” a reference to his age-related health issues.

The party was confident that “time and medical science,” will fulfil the party workers’ yearning to hear his ‘magnetic’ voice again, he said.

DMK will celebrate the event by distributing sweets and distributing welfare assistance, a party leader here said.

Karunanidhi has been not keeping well since October 2016 and days ago he had underwent a procedure to change his tracheostomy tube, provided to help breathing.

On Wednesday, Stalin had said Karunanidhi was suffering from fever and doctors were providing medication as he assured there was nothing to worry about his health.

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Tamil Nadu to ask court to dismiss Vedanta’s smelter reopening plea

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Tamil Nadu will ask environment court to dismiss Vedanta Ltd’s petition seeking to reopen its copper smelter, a lawyer representing the state government said on Thursday.

The Tamil Nadu government ordered the permanent closure of the plant and disconnected its power supply in May following protests that turned violent and culminated in the police opening fire on protesters, killing 13 of them.

The protesters had demanded a permanent shutdown of the plant, which they said was causing air and water pollution. Vedanta says the protests were based on false notions.

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Uber Eats partners with first transgender delivery agent in India — and she’s on a mission of her own

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Every year, June is celebrated as LGBT Pride Month, to commemorate Manhattan’s historic Stonewall Riots in 1969.

As has been the case in the recent past, inclusivity was the one resonating demand at pride marches across some of India’s cities this year.

Uber Eats began Pride Month with a leap — it partnered with its first transgender delivery associate.

Watch Here: Uber Eats partners with first transgender delivery associate

Today, L Preethisha has completed 200 deliveries. She begins her day at 11:00 AM, runs an average of 11 deliveries per day, and gets back home by midnight.

Preethisha was born male in Puducherry.

“I was in the seventh grade when I wanted to be a woman,” she says, “Since I was still young, I didn’t do much about it. But when I had hormonal changes closer to the eleventh grade, I travelled to Pune, had sex-change surgery and have lived as a transgender ever since.”

For several years, Preethisha used to be a stage actor, even making appearances in Tamil films.

She says her parents did not accept her decision, initially, only to relent three years after she began life as a woman in 2003.

“You know how things are in films: you’re not guaranteed of a steady job,” she says.

Preethisha says a more respectful and dignified life is what she now values the most.

Seven months ago, she married a trans-man, G Premkumar. Together, they scripted history as Tamil Nadu’s first transgender couple.

What has surprised Preethisha about her job is the respect she has received from all quarters.

“When customers notice that I’m a transgender, they are more respectful,” she says, “Not only do they wish me luck, but also rate me highly, on the app.”

The trans-woman now wants to set an example for other members of the transgender community, hoping to rehabilitate them from sex work.

“I have tried convincing other trans-women to join food delivery services, and thus work dignified jobs,” she says, “Six trans-women have agreed. I have told them that I will personally help them join. Around six trans-women have agreed to join. But it’s hard to leave a life behind and start a whole new one. It’s not something that can happen in two days.”

Preethisha still dreams of making it big in films.

“I want to be an award-winning actor some-day,” she says. If and when does become successful, striving towards building a society more inclusive for the transgender community, she says, is priority number one.

“For now, I couldn’t be happier than I am right now,” she says, “Transgenders don’t need special treatment. We just need to be looked at the same way any other man or woman is. That in itself is a victory for us.”

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Reopen Sterlite Copper plant, Vedanta contractors tell Tamil Nadu government

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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On Sunday, a delegation of 50 Sterlite Copper contractors, representatives of 30 transport companies servicing the plant, and 85 residents of Tuticorin met Kadambur Raju, Tamil Nadu’s minister for information and publicity.

The group submitted a petition to re-open the plant, on account of job losses in the aftermath of its closure in May. According to various employee unions, nearly 80,000 people have affected by the shutdown.

“Sterlite’s contractors are 80 in number, in addition to 200 sub-contractors who are associated with the plant. We have all been affected,” said S Thiyagarajan, president of the Sterlite Copper Contractors Association.

“We have asked the minister to look at re-opening the plant,” he added.

The meeting comes amidst growing concern that the Tamil Nadu Government’s decision to shut the plant down, may have had an adverse impact on Tuticorin’s economy.

Contractors say alternate employment is hard to come by. “We haven’t managed to find work that has lasted for more than a few days,” said S Michael, a contractor with the plant.

The meeting comes in the backdrop of residents associations and fishermen unions in Tuticorin backtracking from their erstwhile anti-Sterlite stance, which resulted in a 100-day-long protest earlier this year. Several associations and unions have even publicly washed their hands off the protests.

On Saturday, a fishermen’s union approached Tuticorin’s District Legal Services Authority requesting legal assistance in prosecuting a fringe left-wing organization, Makkal Adhikaram. The group accused the outfit of whipping up emotions among villagers and even brainwashing youngsters, to begin the agitation against Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper plant.

In its petition, the Thresspuram Fishermen’s Association accuses two lawyers associated with the organization of coercing people into protesting against the plant.

“These lawyers, Hari Raghavan and S Vanchinathan convinced villagers and brainwashed our youngsters to form a massive group of protesters against Sterlite Copper,” the petition reads.

“After gathering 2 lakh protesters, we believed both these men would lead the agitation on May 22 (when the shootings occurred). But they did not, and we fishermen were seen to be the face of these protests. The police are now harassing us and our families as they continue to foist cases against us.”

While both lawyers in question have been charged and arrested, the government continues to hold fast to its stance that there is no question of Sterlite Copper being re-opened. However, the affected contractors say that they have been promised alternate employment as a means of relief.

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A month since Sterlite Copper closure, neighbouring industries in limbo

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Exactly a month since the Tamil Nadu government ordered the permanent closure of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper plant at Tuticorin district, operations at neighbouring industries have slowed down significantly.

Over two decades, Sterlite Copper has been tending raw material requirements of downstream industries.

This includes fertiliser, pigment and pump manufacturing plants that rely on Sterlite, for sulphuric acid, fly ash and copper slag discharge.

Production Halted At Fertiliser and Pigment Plants

VV Titanium Pigments, located next door to Sterlite Copper, has borne the brunt of the closure.

“We haven’t been able to run our plant since there is no procurement of sulphuric acid,” said J Muthu Rajan, Director, VV Group.

“We are currently planning to source acid from factories located outside Tamil Nadu, which in turn, will drastically increase our production cost,” he added.

Muthu Rajan said the situation turned worrisome, when Vedanta halted operations at Sterlite Copper, even as it waited for renewal of its consent to operate.

During this time, VV Titanium Pigments was buying sulphuric acid from Vedanta’s stock. But with the Tamil Nadu government sealing the plant on May 28, there has been no sale of acid.

Estimates say Vedanta produced around 3,000 tonne of sulphuric acid per day, nearly half of which was set aside for the synthesis of phosphoric acid by fertiliser manufacturers.

Since the shutdown, fertiliser companies like Coimbatore Pioneer Fertilizers has hit the brakes on their manufacturing operations, reporting 25% capacity utilisation at its 66,000-tonne-per-annum plant.

Acid Prices Spike

The shortage of sulphuric acid in Tamil Nadu escalated the price from Rs 4,000 per tonne to Rs 14,000 per tonne in just two months.

Manufacturers say they are unable to absorb this steep rise in cost.

“We have government-imposed regulations on fixing selling price of fertiliser,” pointed out S Velumani, Executive Director of Coimbatore Pioneer Fertilizers.

“In addition to this, we are unable to buy acid from outside the state, since freight charges increase significantly when sulphuric acid is transported from afar. We’re unsure of what to do, next,” he added.

“Economic Suicide”

The last couple of days have seen an intense debate over the impact that Sterlite’s closure had on the industry.

“I am not an expert on copper smelting, but I know India has immense use for copper. If we don’t produce our own, of course, we will buy from China. Ecological violations can be addressed legally. Lynching large businesses is economic suicide (sic),” tweeted the founder of Coimbatore-based Isha Foundation, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

Earlier, yoga guru Ramdev called industries “temples of development for the nation”, adding that they should not be closed.

Tamil Nadu Government: Closure Permanent

Reacting to both statements, Tamil Nadu’s Fisheries Minister, D Jayakumar, said, “Sterlite Copper will not be re-opened since it’s permanently closed. We have taken a firm stand and do not care about the views of Ramdev or Sadhguru.”

The industry, however, says the Tamil Nadu government should meet it half way.

“If the problem is pollution, the onus should be on the industry to devise latent technology to control pollution. If the industry does not do this, the government must enforce these measures and make the company pay,” Velumani said.

“Closure cannot be the answer to pollution — especially if it involves an industry that has invested several thousand crores and has provided jobs to thousands of people, while providing raw material for downstream industries,” Velumani added.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

One year of GST: Small businesses in Tamil Nadu face the heat

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Almost exactly two years ago, Tamil Nadu was perhaps the only state stoically opposed to the Goods and Services Tax.

In June 2016, then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had said, “a manufacturing state like Tamil Nadu will permanently lose substantial revenue if GST is implemented.”

Jayalalithaa even predicted a revenue loss of Rs 9,270 crore, under the new tax regime.

A year into GST, state GST collections in Tamil Nadu stand at Rs 86,859 crore out of its total tax revenue of Rs 98,693 crore for FY18. In other words, GST alone accounted for 88% of the state’s tax revenue in just nine months, even as the state managed to lower fiscal deficit from 4.14% to 2.82%.

Five MSMEs sectors under stress

While the State exchequer may wear a satisfied look today, that isn’t the case with its Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. Five industries in the MSME sector have been red-flagged by the Tamil Nadu Government for special attention, post-GST.

“The automotive, textiles, leather, electrical and electronics and general engineering sectors are being closely studied for any GST-related stress to business,” said Tamil Nadu’s MSME Secretary, Dharmendra Pratap Yadav.

“The final report is awaited. Once that comes, we will look at the possibility of providing subsidies to affected sectors,” he added.

GST refunds a pain-point

The pain-point of GST is best understood in the electronics sector. A printed circuit board, for instance, requires components from nearly 100 different suppliers.

Only 65 of these suppliers, companies say, have acclimatised to the new tax regime. For the remaining third, GST refunds are proving problematic.

“The refunds haven’t come. Even though the government has sped up the process, there is still a lot of pending refunds out there so that affects their cash-flow and is a pain-point for our suppliers,” said Sreeram Srinivasan, CEO, Syrma Technology.

Srinivasan adds that his company is lending a hand at helping smaller suppliers with compliance.

If refunds are one problem, delayed payments and a spike in capital requirements have only added to these woes. Companies say that banks are hesitant to lend and that there is an NPA cloud lurking overhead.

MSME registrations dip in 2018

As per State Government statistics, FY18 saw 49,329 fewer companies register as MSMEs under the Udyog Aaadhaar scheme, when compared to the previous year. The current fiscal also saw 5 lakh fewer jobs being created, in the sector.

While certain sections of the media reported that several thousand MSME units were being shut in the aftermath of GST, the Tamil Nadu government shot down these reports as misrepresentation of statistics.

To its credit, Tamil Nadu has seen 89,924 new companies register as MSMEs on the Udyog Aadhaar scheme, in the first two months of FY19.

Is a revival around the corner? 

These encouraging numbers may point to a revival in new business for MSMEs in the State. Electronics and Manufacturing majors like OnePlus, Xiaomi and Flex India have spoken at length about local procurements and expanding their local supplier base.

Energy companies are also looking to follow suit. “We are looking at localisation going up from 25% to 50%,” said Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, Danfoss India, “In the last two and a half years alone, we have established close to 140 suppliers in and around Chennai.”

Industry bodies in the State are also optimistic about the future. “The Defence Industrial Corridor in Tamil Nadu that was announced earlier this year, will benefit MSMEs by allowing for supply of products to large manufacturers of defence equipment,” said M Ponnuswamy, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industries (Tamil Nadu).

Coupled with the Tamil Nadu Government’s plan to offer a subsidy scheme for GST-hit MSMEs, and a soon-to-be-unveiled Electronics Policy, there might be a ray of light at the end of the tunnel.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Around 22% of electricity produced in India is lost in distribution

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Around 22 percent of electricity produced in India got lost during distribution in May 2018, according to the data compiled by ministry of power.

Though the losses have come down significantly in last 12 months from 27.3 percent during the same month from the previous year.

There are many states where the transmission and distribution (T&D) loss is as high as 40%.

For instance, Odisha lost around 38.2 percent electricity during distribution and transmission in May 2018, worst performance among all states for which data is available.

Odisha is followed by Madhya Pradesh (37.7 percent) and West Bengal (31.44 percent).

However, there are few states which have T&D losses way below the national average.

Himachal Pradesh lost only 9.5 percent of electricity, lowest among all states.

Tamil Nadu (14 percent) and Kerala (15.26 percent) followed by Himachal Pradesh.

Except for Himachal Pradesh, most of the states making substantial T&D losses are located in the north and the eastern of the country, and southern states are the ones who have managed to keep the T&D loss below all-India average.

Tamil Nadu has shown significant improvement in cutting down their T&D losses in last 12 months. It’s T&D losses improved from 22 percent in May, 2017 to 14 percent, last month.

In India, electricity distribution to the last mile is done by the power distribution companies (discoms).

The government of India has launched a scheme called UDAY to bring all ailing discoms to a state of operational efficiency, with state government taking over up to 75 percent of their respective discoms debt and issuing sovereign bonds to pay back the lenders.

The scheme was announced in November 2015 and is optional for the states to join.

Already, 32 states and union territories have joined this scheme, while Odisha and West Bengal are yet to join.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow