RTI reveals shortage of teachers in Chandigarh’s peripheral schools
According to an RTI, it was learnt that in the 42 government model senior secondary schools in Chandigarh, the distribution of teachers in them is disproportionate. Mostly, the schools from the city’s peripheral areas have a poor PTR-Pupil-teacher ratio (less number of teachers).
Among these, Government Model Senior Secondary School - GMSSS-Behlana has a PTR of 92:1, while GMSSS 37-B and GMSSS-Dhanas have 71:1 and 68:1, respectively. Out of the 42 UT schools, 11 institutions have one teacher for more than 50 students, a report by the Hindustan Times stated.
At the GMSSS, Kaimbwala, there is only one postgraduate teacher (PGT) for 179 students of Classes XI and XII. Comparatively, every 17 students at GMSSS, Sector 56, have one PGT. Both schools have only a humanities stream.
Teachers react
A teacher, on the condition of anonymity, said in GMSSS-Kaimbwala only Hindi is taught by a PGT. All other subjects, like English, history, political science, and physical education, are taught by trained graduate teachers (TGTs) to Classes XI and XII. The teacher added that the situation has remained the same since 2022.
The principal of GMSSS-Behlana said every month the list of teaching posts yet to be filled is sent to the department, which assures them that the vacancy will be filled. Till then, we are managing with what we have, the principal added.
Unlike the peripheral-area schools, the situation for other city schools is quite different.
For instance, at the Government Girls Model Senior Secondary School (GGMSSS), Sector 18, there is one teacher for every 27 students; in GMSSS, Sector 33-D, the PTR is 25:1, with the Sector 27-D GMSSS standing at 26:1, stated the Hindustan Times report.
In 42 government senior secondary schools, the total strength of students studying in Classes XI and XII is 22,693, whereas the total number of teachers for them is only 570. Director of School Education Harsuhinder Pal Singh Brar said, “The recruitment is being completed by January 30, and we should be able to achieve our targets.”
On being questioned about the disparity of teachers’ distribution in schools, Pal said it depends on the subject and can’t be measured on an overall basis.
President of the UT Cadre Educational Employees Union, Swarn Singh Kamboj, said the disparity between the distribution of teachers shows that the department is not paying attention to the issue. Teachers should be transferred regularly, but this is not being done, so mostly, teachers prefer city schools over periphery, he added.
Shivmurat Singh, chairman of the Joint Action Committee of Teachers, said that while many high schools have been converted to senior secondary schools over the years, teaching posts have not increased accordingly. Even the current recruitment of 98 PGT posts will not fill the vacuum.
Arvind Rana, the legal adviser of the Joint Teachers Association, said teachers should be transferred according to schools’ requirements.
NEP recommendations
According to the 2023-24 UDISE (Unified District Information System for Education) Plus report, both RTE and National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisage the right mix of teachers and students.
The NEP recommends a 30:1 PTR ratio at all levels of the school education system to have a reasonable level of interactive learning and achieve the desired level of outcomes. Clause 5.4 of the CBSE Affiliation Bylaws 2018 also says the ratio should not exceed 30:1. As per rules, there must also be 1.5 teachers per section, excluding the principal, physical education teacher, and counsellor, to teach various subjects, the Hindustan Times stated.