A single teacher is managing the education of 85 students of the municipal corporation primary school at Kandasamy Nagar in Coimbatore. Parents of students alleged that the corporation has failed to appoint adequate teachers as per the norm on the pupil-teacher ratio.
A parent, K Sivakumar (name changed), told The New Indian Express that in the upcoming 2024-25 academic year only one female teacher who is also the headmaster in charge, will have to teach students from Class I to V and also run the school administration.
"During last academic year, a headmaster was also here with the present teacher but the former moved to another school. One teacher cannot teach the education fundamentals to 85 children efficiently. Children also cannot learn the concepts in books correctly," Sivakumar expressed his anguish.
He pointed out that the school should have three teachers including a headmaster as per the prescribed 30:1 pupil-teacher ratio in Tamil Nadu.
"If the corporation does not appoint adequate teachers, I would admit my two children in nearby private schools," Sivakumar said.
A member of the School Management Committee told The New Indian Express, "In the last three months we requested the corporation several times to appoint at least two teachers additionally to teach lessons to students. The appointments are yet to be made."
"Every child should obtain the benefits of primary education for their cognitive development, physical development and ethical development. The failure to appoint sufficient teachers is a violation of the Right to Education Act, 2009," she remarked.
When asked about it, Corporation Education Officer Thomas Xavier told The New Indian Express that they would appoint a teacher by Wednesday and another teacher would be appointed soon.
