Schools in Meghalaya are reportedly running for mere two to four students. While the enrollment statistics are alarming, the teacher-pupil ratio in these schools is unreasonable.
State’s Education Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui shared on March 13, 2019, “There are many Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) schools which are functioning with two teachers teaching only two or four students.”
One of the concerns here is wastage of government’s resources. With such a low enrollment rate, the need for two teachers is not justified.
Today, education in India is suffering from the dearth of teachers. Many schools across the country are running with one or no teachers at all in the buildings. This is one of the major reasons behind low achievement rate in students in particular regions.
While such a scenario exists in some parts of the country, a teacher-pupil ratio of 2:4 stands unreasonable. Addressing this concern, the state’s education minister added, “We are in the process to rationalise teachers’ placement in SSA schools so that resources of the government is not wasted.”
Sharing about the overall state’s education statistics, Rymbui stated, “In Meghalaya, there are 395 lower primary schools with 808 teachers and 508 upper primary schools with 1874 teachers.”
On the issue of late payment of teachers’ salaries, he added, “the disbursement of salaries take place as and when the funds are released from the Centre.”
[Image: The Indian Express]
