Kolkata, July 15 (HS): Now a days a number of schools are adopting the semi-circular seating arrangement system in the name of educational reform. Proponents claim this approach eliminates the inferiority complex associated with backbenchers and brings all students closer to the teacher, enabling equal learning opportunities.
However, academic thinkers believe that mere changes in seating structure cannot improve the quality of education, unless the systemic issues are addressed.
Pramod Kumar Tiwari, headmaster of Rishra Vidyapith High School in Hooghly district and a reputed educationist, said that education is not a linear process. Its success depends on several factors—student interest, availability of resources, teacher competence, curriculum design, and evaluation methods.
“More than 30 teaching methodologies are being practiced worldwide today—Montessori, Dalton, heuristic, scientific, discussion-based methods, and more,” says Tiwari. “Had any one method been universally effective, the others wouldn't have evolved.”
According to him, education requires sensitivity, interest-based mentoring, and an inspiring teaching presence—not cosmetic changes.
He questioned the current trend: “Will placing students in a semi-circle improve the quality of textbooks or enhance teacher preparedness?”
He asserts that students need to be guided according to their natural talents and inclinations—not just rearranged in a classroom.
Citing the example of renowned cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, he said, “If Tendulkar had been taught in a semi-circular classroom, would he have become an educationist instead of a cricketer?”
Tiwari also warned that the emotional and idealistic portrayals of education often seen in movies are far from reality. Real educational reform, he said, demands ground-level change, policy commitment, and practical insight.
With a sharp touch of irony, he added: “Even if Amitabh Bachchan endorses it, Kamla Pasand doesn’t become nectar.”
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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey
