GUWAHATI: In nearly 3,000 Assam government elementary schools, there is only one teacher, while in more than 12,000 elementary schools (including lower and upper primary), the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) of 30:1 and 35:1 has yet to be achieved, the state government told the Assam Assembly on Thursday.
According to U-DISE (database about schools in the country), the state has 2,979 single-teacher schools, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said in a written response to a question from Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi.
There are 2,959 lower primary schools (up to Class V) and 20 upper primary schools (classes VI to VIII).
A different picture emerges in another 1,860 government primary schools, where the Education Minister stated that each has six teachers.
Lower primary schools account for 1,045 of these schools, while upper primary schools account for 815.
According to the Right to Education Act of 2009, the required pupil-teacher ratio in lower primary schools is 30:1. The number of teachers in such schools, where the maximum student enrolment is 60, should be two.
Three teachers should be present if the enrollment is between 61 and 90. The number of teachers should be four for enrollments between 91 and 120, but five for enrollments between 121 and 200.
According to the Education Minister, if the student population exceeds 150, there should be a headmaster in addition to five teachers. Even if enrollment exceeds 200, the ratio should not exceed 40:1. (excluding the head teacher).
In upper primary schools, the ideal ratio is 35:1. In such circumstances, Pegu stated that the number of schools that fall short of meeting the ratio according to RTE norms is 12,731, with 10,781 being lower primary schools and 1,950 being upper primary schools.
The house was also informed that 207 high schools in the state are still failing to meet the ideal ratio of 40:1.
Lower primary schools have the highest rate of noncompliance with the pupil-teacher ratio. Udalguri district in Bodoland Territorial Regional has the most — 300 — single-teacher lower primary schools, followed by 240 in Kokrajhar (also in BTR) and 200 in Golaghat.
