Akola has 42 surplus teachers, yet 15 Zilla Parishad schools run on a single teacher
Akola's Zilla Parishad schools have 42 more teachers than sanctioned posts, but 15 schools are still run by just one teacher, raising concern over teaching quality.
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A curious picture has emerged from the Zilla Parishad schools of Akola district. The district has 42 surplus teachers, yet 15 schools are still being run by just one teacher each. Concern is being voiced that the quality of teaching in these schools will suffer.
The district has a total of 950 Zilla Parishad schools, of which 920 are primary and 30 are secondary. The administration is running several initiatives to maintain enrolment in rural schools. It is against this backdrop that the new picture has surfaced.
Teacher shortages in Zilla Parishad schools were earlier a constant talking point. The situation has now changed. With falling student numbers, some teachers have become surplus. The 950 schools in the district have 55,000 students on their rolls. The number of sanctioned teacher posts is 3,042, while 3,000 teachers are actually working. This means 42 teachers are currently considered surplus.
According to information from the Zilla Parishad's education department, a school with Classes 1 to 5 is sanctioned two teachers for 60 students. A third teacher requires a school to have at least 76 students. For Classes 6 to 8, one post is sanctioned per class if there are up to 35 students, and two posts if there are two classes. In such a case, even if the school runs from Class 1 to Class 7, it will be sanctioned four teachers.
A parent said that if Zilla Parishad schools offered the same quality of teaching as private schools, enrolment would rise. A child educated in a Zilla Parishad school would also hold his own in competitive examinations. For this reason, he said, it is essential that Zilla Parishad schools have subject-wise teachers.
According to him, for a Zilla Parishad school student to keep pace with children from private schools, the school's teachers must change their teaching methods and prepare the children. Zilla Parishad schools teach only the children of the classes sanctioned. This was said by Sheelwant Wankhade, a parent from Vyala.
