Soon, No More ‘Back Benchers’ In Kerala Classrooms

“The best brains of the nation may be found on the last benches of the classroom”. This was former President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam’s take on students dubbed as backbenchers for lagging behind in academic and co-curricular activities. Kerala, which has made advanced strides in the education and health sector, however has a different take on the backbencher concept. General Education Minister, V Sivankutty has pointed out that being branded a ‘backbencher’ could impact a student’s confidence level. The state government is considering a proposal to change the seating arrangement in classrooms from the conventional row system to U-shaped model.  A committee of experts is being constituted to suggest the best seating pattern for the state’s education system. Interestingly, the Minister has derived his inspiration from a Malayalam movie Sthanarthi Sreekuttan  in which a school student proposes a change in the conventional seating pattern after being humiliated for being a backbencher. A section of academics has welcomed the proposal as it would enable the teacher to give equal attention to all students. According to J Prasad, former director of the State Council for Educational Research and Training, the semi-circular seating arrangement has been informally implemented in schools where classrooms have been built according to latest infrastructure standards. The general take is that such seating arrangements will ensure that teachers have direct eye contact, proximity towards students and two-way engagement, making the classroom sessions more vibrant. However, there is a contrarian view too. Some academicians are asking how superficial changes to classroom seating could improve the teaching-learning process? There is no scientific study to establish the efficacy of a semi-circular seating arrangement, says Prof Amruth G Kumar, Department of Education, Central University of Kerala.