Hyderabad: For a few hours this week, some government school students in Telangana found their lessons being taught not by their usual teachers, but by the most senior administrative officers in their districts.
District Collectors across the state stepped out of their offices and into classrooms, swapping files and review meetings for chalk and blackboards, as part of a continuing push to spend more time in government schools and connect directly with students.
In Narayanpet, Collector Chekka Priyanka visited the Primary School at Tiprus village in Utkoor Mandal, where she sat with students and interacted with them about their studies.
Jagtial Collector Sandeep Kumar Jha went a step further at the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Model School and Girls’ Hostel in Kodakandla, taking an actual mathematics class for the students there.
In Hanumakonda, Collector Chahat Bajpai made an unannounced visit to the Primary and High Schools at Jeelgul village, where she spoke with both students and teachers and took stock of academic activities on the ground.
Mahabubabad Collector Sneha Shabareesh chose the Government Boys Junior College in Mahabubabad town for her visit, where she spent time discussing career and academic plans with students before joining in on classroom teaching herself.
The visits follow a broader directive from the state government asking Collectors to spend more time in the field and engage personally with government schools, including taking classes and having meals with students.
Officials say that the idea behind this move is that senior administrators show up in person, which sends students and parents the message that government schools are not an afterthought, but a priority.
For the students on the receiving end, though, the takeaway was probably simpler still, a normal school day that suddenly came with a rather unusual substitute teacher.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Syeda Faiza Kirmani | 
