Teacher-post rationalization to solve woes: Assam education department

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The state education department will now embark on teacher-post rationalization to solve the problem of elementary schools with fewer teachers.

The process for teacher-post rationalization will be done alongside the process for amalgamation and merger of schools in the state, which will be done for 11,272 schools in the state in a way that the correct teacher-student ratio is maintained, as reported by The Sentinel earlier.

The decision for amalgamation and merger of schools was taken following the report that a large number of government and provincialized primary, upper primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools across 35 districts in the state have less than the prescribed enrolment. It emerged that, out of the 11,272 schools lined up for amalgamation or merger, 3,536 schools have an enrollment of up to only 15 students, while 7,736 such schools have an enrollment of 16-30 students, as apparent from the Siksha Setu portal.

The Siksha Setu portal has now revealed that there is a dearth of teachers in many elementary schools. In fact, there are 2,400 schools operating with only 1 teacher each, 15,274 schools with 2 teachers each, 7,847 schools with 3 teachers each, 4109 schools with 4 teachers each, and 4558 schools with 5 teachers each.

Out of these, Nagaon district has the most schools with 5 teachers-a total of 427; Cachar has 387 such schools; Dhubri has 357; Karimganj has 356; Morigaon has 325; and Sivasagar also has 325 such schools.

The education department has now announced that the issue of schools with only one teacher will be dealt with before Durga Puja, or within a month.

Education Minister Ranoj Pegu sought to clarify the situation in light of the latest decisions of his department. The minister said that each school with low enrollment will be examined to find the reason behind the problem before embarking on the amalgamation and merger of such schools. He said the habitation in the areas where such schools are located will be examined, as well as the presence of other schools in the area. If the habitation in the area is found to be greater and another school is located nearby, the low-enrolment school will be amalgamated or merged with it, he explained.

Minister Pegu also said that if the lack of teachers in a school has led to fewer students, more teachers will be appointed. Also, where there are more teachers but fewer students, an opportunity will be given to increase enrollment, he added. Moreover, he said that local conditions would also be examined. "It will be a need-based decision, and no blanket decision will be taken," he said.

The minister also laid stress on maintaining the correct teacher-pupil ratio, for which a teacher-post rationalization process will be undertaken, along with the amalgamation and merger of schools in the state.

It should be mentioned here that the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) mandated by RTE 2009 is 30:1 for the primary level.

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