‘Smaller class sizes mean better care of students’
“If schools in Oman have large student numbers, they have to go for new classrooms,” he added.
“There is no other way. You must have a maximum ratio of 30 students to a teacher, otherwise, when a lesson is introduced, teachers will not have time to see whether everyone has understood it and might miss the students who are not interested in learning.
The Times of Oman also spoke to parents about the overcrowding in classrooms and how it affected their children.
“I was surprised to see for myself the number of students in my son’s class,” said one father, whose child attends an Indian school in the capital.
“With so many students, how will the teacher be able to keep an eye on all of them? There are 47 students in my son’s class, and this is far too many. The teachers will not be able to provide a personal approach. Ideally, there should be no more than 25 students in a class, and this is nearly double that number. The teachers will find it exceedingly difficult both to control the students and to teach them.”
A mother added, “Smaller classes means better teacherto-child ratios, because Indian schools normally have only one teacher in a classroom, apart from kindergarten, where they have two. Infrastructure also improves with smaller classes; washrooms are cleaner, security is better, children get more opportunity for extracurricular activities. If they go to music class, for example, they will spend more time with an instrument. If they go for gymnastics or art, they will be more focus on them by the teachers, so they get to learn more. They will receive better quality interaction and, for younger children, more emotional attention as well. When you have larger class sizes for younger children, then the kids are left to fend for themselves. The teacher just wants them to open the book, finish the work, and just get through the 40 minutes of class time. She will try, yes, but if you have 45 students and a 40-minute period, then you are essentially giving each child less than a minute of attention. “
This parent also believed that smaller class sizes meant a better standard of education as fewer children equals more resources for everyone.
“Teachers then have time to look beyond academics. The teacher can teach in a different way, and when more work is done in the class, it means less work is brought home. The workload for the teacher also becomes less” she added.
Anuya Phule, a psychotherapist at Hatat Polyclinic, added that attention to students was extremely important for their academic and all-round development, particularly at an early age.
“For the teacher to give full attention to everyone is not possible even if there are only 30 kids, but to maintain discipline, ensure structured lessons and make eye contact with all the students, smaller numbers are better,” she explained.
“A single teacher is not able to manage the chaos caused by the presence of so many students; secondly, assessing each and every student on a personal level does not happen, and puts a lot of pressure on the teacher; finally, attention cannot be paid to the process of teaching itself. This must be rich, active and stimulating.”
Phule added, “At a very early age, in primary school, kids need a kind of attention from teachers, and in large class sizes they don’t get that. This affects their confidence and their academic capabilities suffer because equal chances are not given to all. All students have different attention spans and energy levels, but if teachers are unable to control a large group of children, many of them will be unable to grasp what is taught in the class.”
“Some students are naturally attentive, but others are not, so students need to be in an atmosphere will helps them think and concentrate on things, and if there are too many students, that will not happen.”