Government schools in Bandipora struggle with lopsided PTR; academics hit

Srinagar: The government schools in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district are facing a severe crisis in maintaining a balanced Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR), particularly in far-off areas.

Official figures reveal that while the primary schools boast encouraging enrollment numbers, they were plagued by inadequate teaching staff, leaving students at a disadvantage.

Several primary schools in Bandipora district have fallen victim to this pressing issue.

For instance, the Government Primary School Tilwanpora Trigam, which has 54 students, has only three teachers to cater to five different classes.

The situation is further exacerbated in other schools, with some having even fewer teachers despite a similar or larger student body.

Chief Education Officer (CEO) Bandipora, Muhammad Amin Beigh while acknowledging the problem said the matter had been taken up with the higher-ups in the department.

According to the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data, Bandipora should have around 800 schools.

However, the actual number of operational schools has dwindled to approximately 516 due to the clubbing of schools.

CEO Bandipora emphasised that while they were aware of the issue, they lacked the authority to order the rationalisation of teachers to rectify the PTR problem.

A primary school in Najan, for instance, is grappling with a PTR crisis, housing 37 students in five classes with only two teachers.

This situation is far from unique, with many primary schools in the area facing similar issues, making it exceedingly challenging for the teachers to manage day-to-day academic activities.

In the Chuntwari area of Bandipora, another primary school with 64 students also has just two teachers.

Likewise, a different primary school with 70 students finds itself in a similar predicament.

The scarcity of staff in numerous schools has severely impacted the quality of education, and the concerned authorities have yet to take adequate measures to address this critical issue.

CEO Bandipora, Muhammad Amin Beigh told Greater Kashmir that he had already conveyed the situation to higher-ups in the Education Department.

“I have proposed a comprehensive model that includes appointing a headmaster at the primary school level and ensuring at least five teachers in each primary school,” he said.

Beigh said that strengthening primary schools being the foundational stage of education was mandatory.

“Primary school is the foundational stage, and it has to be strengthened so that our students can be groomed properly from lower levels to upper levels,” he said.

Beigh said further clubbing of schools could help resolve the issue, enabling the department to provide adequate staffing levels at every educational level.

“We do not have the power to rationalise staff in schools. But I assure you that once we are given powers of rationalisation of staff to streamline PTR in schools, we will resolve the problem,” he said.