Prime Highlights
- The Kerala Education Department is set to remove the word “backbenchers” from classrooms.
- U-shaped seating in pilot schools will be used to foster equal input and confidence in students.
Key Fact
- Seating is being redesigned to remove hierarchical labels and increase participation.
- An expert committee is set to give state-wide student-centered classroom designs.
Key Background
It is Kerala Education Department that is spearheading a revolutionary change in the classroom arrangement with its initiatives towards eliminating the institution of “backbenchers.” Revolutionary as the move may sound, its objective is to usher in inclusivity, stimulate student engagement, and eliminate the practice of psychological stereotyping associated with sitting on the back bench.
General Education Minister V Sivankutty informed that the state government would initiate ideas regarding learning spaces to give children a sense of equality. The state government will constitute an expert committee to examine other models of seating from all over the world to propose models appropriate to Kerala’s vision for inclusive education.
The motivation to take this step is, to some degree, inspired by the 2024 Malayalam film Sthanarthi Sreekuttan, where a pupil campaigns for an inclusive U-shaped seating plan. The film’s message struck its most resonant note in Kerala’s school system. Several districts of Kollam, Kannur, and Thrissur have already started exploring horseshoe and circular classroom setups.
Pilot school early outcomes are encouraging. Students experience improved classroom interaction, and teachers have an increasingly collaborative and confidence-building environment. Without the “back” of their classroom, the rearranged layout dispels physical and psychological distance, with a sense of being together with peers.
The project has brought both envy and nostalgia. Some teachers, parents, and students have embraced the inclusive design, but others—particularly former students—have nostalgically regretted the loss of the “backbencher” tradition, which is generally characterized as a sphere of creativity and camaraderie.
Education professionals widely support the change based on research that shows seating significantly influences a child’s behavior, engagement, and results in school. Once again, the expert panel is going to deliberate and suggest recommendations as to whether this unique seating pattern could be implemented for school use in the entire state or not. If implemented and effective, Kerala’s educational reform can become a national model in designing fair and student-centered classrooms.
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