The Calcutta High Court's single-judge bench criticised the "irrational" distribution of teacher postings in different state-run schools in West Bengal, on Friday, February 17. The court noted that some schools with an adequate number of students have an insufficient number of teachers, while others with fewer students have too many teachers.
During the hearing on a matter relating to teachers' transfers, Justice Biswajit Basu of the Calcutta High Court discovered that a school in the Howrah district with only 13 students had five teachers, while another school in the same district with a total student strength of 550 had only eight teachers, leaving crucial subjects such as mathematics and geography without proper teachers stated a report by IANS.
Expressing concern over the irrational teacher-to-student ratio in schools, Justice Biswajit Basu suggested that schools with few students could have their recognition withdrawn and teachers transferred to schools without adequate teaching staff.
The state education department's counsel suggested that political pressures could arise if such a step is taken. "Forget about the political pressures. There is an urgent requirement of improving the academic grades of the schools. Why can't we think of model schools? There are girls' schools in the state which neither have adequate teachers nor security staff and not even proper toilets. How can one remain silent in such a situation?" Justice Basu questioned them as reported by IANS.
Justice Basu said that teachers who refuse to abide by the transfer policy should be denied their salary from the next month.
"We will have to first think of the interest of the students. I know that changing the process is time-consuming. But we will have to achieve it," Justice Basu observed.
