June 6, 2013, 12:00 am
Education circles were abuzz on Wednesday after word spread that over 100 matriculation schools in the State had submitted requests for conversion to CBSE from the coming academic year.
Confirming the development, a senior office-bearer of the Tamil Nadu Nursery, Primary and Matriculation Higher Secondary Schools Management Association, on condition of anonymity, told �Express� that this was due to an increased disillusionment among parents with the Samacheer Kalvi syllabus, as they felt it was not so competitive.
�Parents want their children to study more subjects, want more number of staff coaching them and above all, be equipped enough to enter the competitive world. What is wrong in this? Even I would want my children to follow such a system of education,� he said. Hence, the preference for ICSE and CBSE boards was high, he added.
However, some felt that the move could be a sham. Lashing out at the matriculation schools, noted educationist and former vice-chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Vasanthi Devi said that this could be a ploy by the schools to escape from the regulations stipulated by the State government on fee and maintenance of teacher-student ratio.
Meanwhile, regional director of the CBSE Sudarshan Rao said that their office had not received any such requests from the matriculation schools.
He added that any such request would have to be routed through Delhi. When asked whether the office was in receipt of such documents from Delhi, he replied in the negative.
Around 450 CBSE schools are operating in the State currently.
