GUWAHATI: More than 32,000 schools in Assam are being run by a single teacher, with low student enrolment emerging as one of the biggest structural challenges facing the state's education system, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu informed the Assembly on Thursday, July 9.
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Replying to a question from AIUDF MLA Maulana Badruddin Ajmal during Question Hour, Pegu said Assam has around 44,000 schools spread across nearly 22,000 villages, many of which have very low student strength.
The minister said 22,189 lower primary schools, 5,517 upper primary schools and 3,215 high schools each have fewer than 30 students. As many as 32,321 schools are functioning with only one teacher, while only 11,922 schools have enrolment of more than 30 students.
"Low enrolment has become a major issue for the state. If two teachers are posted in a school with 30 students, the pupil-teacher ratio is 15:1. In a school with only 20 students, the ratio improves to 10:1," Pegu said.
Despite the challenge, he maintained that Assam's overall pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) is better than that of many other states. The government, he said, is conducting a survey to identify schools that can be merged or amalgamated to ensure better deployment of teachers.
"A final decision will be taken after consulting all stakeholders," the minister said, adding that the list of schools with enrolment below 30 students would be shared with MLAs from Thursday.
Responding to another question from Congress MLA Wajed Ali Choudhury, Pegu said nearly one-fifth of Assam's sanctioned teaching posts remain vacant.
According to the minister, 30,032 of the state's 1,54,078 sanctioned teaching posts are vacant. These include 18,801 vacancies in primary schools—11,662 in lower primary and 7,139 in upper primary schools—and 11,231 vacancies in secondary and higher secondary schools.
Referring to the state government's commitment to provide government jobs to two lakh youths, Pegu said the recruitment process for vacant teaching posts would be taken up after the preparation of vacancy lists.
In reply to another question from Congress MLA Asif Mohammad Nazar, Pegu informed the House that Assam has 44,103 government-run schools, including 39,531 primary schools.
During the discussion, Ajmal argued that the prevalence of single-teacher schools has contributed to declining enrolment over the years.
Acknowledging the concern, Pegu said the government is working to eliminate single-teacher schools through a three-pronged strategy comprising regular recruitment, intra-district teacher rationalisation, and the merger or amalgamation of schools to improve teacher availability across the state.