J&K to study Kerala's school seating model for ending back bencher stigma

Srinagar, Jul 11: Inspired by a scene from a Malayalam movie, several government schools have done away with the traditional seating arrangement of students in classrooms and opted for U-shaped seating arrangement.

The move aims to end the back benchers stigma among the students and ensures all students are visible and engaged, promoting inclusivity and equal attention from the teachers.

The move comes in wake of a scene from the Malayalam movie "Sthanarthi Sreekuttan" which aims to eliminate the concept of backbenchers and encourage a more interactive learning environment.

Following this, the stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir are suggesting similar seating arrangements in UT citing that it will be effective for the teaching-learning process in schools.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, noted academician and former Vice Chancellor Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) Prof. Mushtaq Sidique said round table seating set up was earlier introduced in IIMs wherein teachers would remain available in well of the round table.

"It is a good idea and our J&K government should work on U-shaped seating arrangements in schools. It will ensure equal attention of teachers towards students," Prof Mushtaq Sidique told Greater Kashmir.

He said during his tenure as VC IUST, he wanted to introduce a round table seating arrangement in some departments like Management and others. "But during that time we had some unfavorable situation in Kashmir and it could not be introduced," he said. He said such seating arrangement brings teachers close to the students and vice versa without any student being a front bencher or last bencher.

"If Kerala has done it, our government can also think over it as it will have a huge impact on the teaching-learning process," he said.

Chairman Delhi Public School (DPS) Srinagar, Vijay Dhar while appreciating the initiative said the idea has to be worked out first in government schools. "It has to be started at the government level because in our government schools, students are deprived from basic facilities of desks and benches," Dhar told Greater Kashmir.

He said the government spends huge amounts of money on tourism and health besides other sectors but no equal attention is given to the education sector.

"Government should allow private schools to adopt two to three government schools to upgrade the infrastructure and to enhance the learning outcomes," he said.

He said doing away with the traditional seating arrangement was possible in government schools only if the schools have better infrastructure. "We have many government schools in rented accommodation with no facilities at all," he said. Speaking about the private schools, Dhar said the idea of U-shaped or semi circle seating arrangement can be adopted in schools given the availability of the infrastructure. As already reported, the majority of the government schools lack basic facilities of benches and desks besides other facilities.

The schools have dingy classrooms and students attend classes on the floor with no seating arrangement in place.

Professor psychiatry at Government Medical College Srinagar (GMC) Srinagar, Dr. Arshad Hussain while advocating U-shaped seating arrangement in schools said that instilling a sense of uniformity among students will go a long way. "Though we celebrate the uniqueness of individual students, instilling a sense of uniformity goes a long way in avoiding a sense of discrimination at an early age," he told Greater Kashmir.

He said U-shaped seating arrangements in classrooms are probably set up in the right direction to make children feel equal.

Minister for education, Sakina Itoo when contacted said the government will examine the new U-shaped seating arrangement adopted by Kerala and assess its possibilities.

"We will see what possibilities are in it as all the aspects will have to be looked into. We will also study what the Kerala government has implemented. We will study the project and assess its financial implications," she told Greater Kashmir. The education minister said the idea was good but it needs to be properly worked out.

"Once it is properly worked out, we will consider its implementation," she said.