Lopsided Pupil-Teacher Ratio in Srinagar schools hits academics

Srinagar, Aug 26: The lopsided Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) in government schools of Srinagar district has thrown up a major challenge for the authorities in the School Education Department as the issue has taken a toll on the academic progress of students enrolled in teacher-deficient schools.

As per the official figures, the problem persists mostly in primary and middle schools where the dearth of teaching staff forces teachers to conduct combined classes, raising questions over the quality of education imparted to the school children.

As per the official figures, dozens of primary and middle schools are facing dearth of teachers despite the passage of half of the academic session.

The students in these teacher-deficient schools have been left at the receiving end, while the School Education Department (SED) is still struggling to devise strategies to address the imbalance in the PTR in the schools.

Government Middle School Khanmoh is a case in place. As per the official record, the school has a student population of 58 while the department has posted only two teachers in the school.

The official record shared by the Chief Education Officer (CEO) Srinagar suggests that the schools which are located in the outskirts or at the end point of the city are facing a dearth of teaching staff while the schools located within the city centre or at easily accessible places are overcrowded with surplus teaching staff.

An official said the arrangement has been done to accommodate some influential teachers at the cost of the students enrolled in schools which are located at a distance from the city centre.

Primary school Khonmoh Chek has 122 students and the department has posted only three teachers in the school and Girls Middle school Khanmoh has again only three teachers for 118 students.

The details were obtained from the department by M M Shuja through RTI Application.

The official record reveals that middle school Munawarabad has 12 teachers for 50 students and Boys Middle School Jawahar Nagar has 47 teachers for 126 students.

"Such arrangement of teachers in schools defeats the purpose of maintaining proper PTR in schools. The PTR in city schools is completely against the norms put in place by the Ministry of Education (MoE)," the official said.

As per the official figures, Girl Middle School Batwara has 73 teachers for 98 students and Girls Middle School has 54 teachers for 126 students.

Government Primary school Mallapora Rainawari has two teachers for 48 students and Primary school Mumkhan has two teachers for 74 students. In contrast, the Girls middle school Tulsi Bagh has 34 teachers for 80 students and Boys middle school Tulsi Bagh has 33 teachers for 90 students.

However, Primary school Ali-A Abad Gund Hassibhat has only two teachers for 252 students and primary school Cheki Hargopal has only two teachers for 98 students.

Also, the primary school Waza Mohallah Rambirgrah Srinagar also has only two teachers for 176 students.

However, the Girls Middle school Barzulla located within the city has 18 teachers for 110 students.

The lopsided PTR exists in schools despite the hectic efforts made by the Department to streamline ratio in schools. Over the years, the department has taken many initiatives to streamline the PTR in schools by way of rationalisation of the staff. "But the problem still persists in many schools particularly in the city," the official said.