Inspired by Malayalam film, Hyderabad schools fight ‘backbencher’ stigma

An idea from director Vinesh Viswanath’s ‘Sthanarthi Sreekuttan,’ a Malayalam movie, is slowly reshaping the classroom environment besides removing the stigma of ‘backbenchers’ in government-run schools in the city.

Doing away with the age-old practice of conventional bench arrangements with the blackboard in front, some government-run residential schools and government schools have come up with U-shaped seating, a one-of-its-kind model from Hyderabad.

Drawing inspiration from the movie, schools have rearranged the benches in a way where the teacher will be in the centre of the classroom, as against the current practice of being at the front near the blackboard. This idea arose from the movie that put forward a classroom seating model that weeds out the stigma associated with backbenchers.

Unlike the conventional bench setup, where teachers find it hard to keep an eye on students in the back, the new arrangement allows teachers to engage with every student more easily.

“This initiative has already been grounded in some residential schools and government schools where classrooms are spacious. With the



teacher in the centre, it will be easy for students to focus on the teaching,” a senior official from the Hyderabad District administration told Telangana Today.

Although the initiative has been welcomed for improving student-teacher engagement in classrooms, some teachers have pointed out challenges, particularly discomfort to students’ necks.

“As the students will be sitting with their necks turned towards the blackboards for long hours, they may suffer from neck pain at a young age. Moreover, we should not stigmatise backbenchers. Some of the best brains have come from the backbenches,” said Veera Chary, School Assistant (Mathematics), Government High School, Banjara Hills.

When asked about these concerns, the official said several institutions and offices have semi-circular or U-shaped boardrooms.

“Meetings happen in such U-shaped boardrooms for long hours. This is already being implemented in schools in States including Kerala, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu. The U-shaped arrangement has been chosen to support better interaction and visibility in the classroom. This is still an experiment,” the official added.