BENGALURU: The Department of School Education and Literacy has instructed teachers and principals across high schools to ensure that subject teachers don't disrupt games and physical education classes for 10th standard students, reports Rashmi Patil of The New Indian Express.
This instruction has been issued by the department following a letter from a member of KSCPCR, who complained about the lack of games and physical education for class 10 students. K T Thippeswamy, member of the Karnataka Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said, "Last month, I visited various schools and interacted with class 10 students.
The students told the commission that they are not allowed to play games during the games period or even physical classes are not conducted. Both these classes are taken over by other subject teachers to conduct extra classes and complete their syllabus."
He added, "It is very sad because being involved in physical activities is as important as being involved in studies to prepare for board exams. In addition to this, the students are also pressured by parents to score good marks in SSLC exams. Hence, I wrote a letter to the education commissioner, Vikas Kishor, to pass an order saying that teachers should not take over physical education classes."
Highlighting the importance of physical activities, especially for students during exams, Shrishti Jain, a child psychologist, said, "Playing games or physical activities is a neuro-psychological necessity. The habit of movements between study hours must be inculcated in the student and teacher routine. When students experience any kind of exam pressure or stress, the body produces a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol interferes with the functioning of the hippocampus. The functioning of the hippocampus is responsible for memory encoding and retrieval. When the stress hormone is interfering here, the memory retrieval and learning is not happening. The children also tend to experience somatic anxiety during exams, including headache, restlessness, stomach ache due to the lack of movement between study cycles."
She also emphasised that it is not just games that can help children remain active or retain attention in classes, a five minutes of short break for a walk or any sort of activity that involves movement will reduce study fatigue among students.
Teachers under pressure to complete the syllabus
Amidst the department's strict orders and children's overall interest, teachers are also under pressure to complete the syllabus in their respective subjects before December 15, 2025. A teacher from a government high school in Cheemangala on the outskirts of Bengaluru city, spoke on the basis of anonymity.
He said, "When the socio-economic survey date was extended, most of our class hours were lost in it. As a result, we are under pressure to complete the syllabus by December 15. This date might extend for extra ten days but not beyond that. Therefore, we have to conduct extra classes for 45 minutes in the morning as well in the evening hours. On Saturday and Sunday, it depends on the availability of teachers."
He also said, "Most of the students who come to government schools are from economically weaker sections, they can't pay for private tuition. As teachers we need to handhold them in some subjects so that they get passing marks in the exams."
Meanwhile, another teacher from a government high school in Basaveshwaranagar, said, "At one point the department asks us to produce the highest pass percentage in SSLC exams and more students to get passing marks but on the other hand, it has instructed us not to disrupt games period. It is a big question on how we complete the syllabus within a short time."
