700 primary schools in Gujarat run by single teacher, says govt

While Kutch has 100 such schools with one teacher each, tribal districts of Mahisagar with 74 such schools and Tapi with 59 such schools are among the 33 districts of the state that have the highest number of primary schools being run by a single teacher, stated the data tabled by state government during the Question Hour.

Such schools are present even in districts with huge urban pockets with 43 schools in Surat, four in Ahmedabad, 38 in Vadodara and 16 schools in Rajkot having just one educator each.

Kheda and Bhavnagar are the only districts without any such schools with a single teacher.

According to the data tabled by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in the Lok Sabha during the budget session in 2019, in the pre-pandemic years, 92,275 elementary and secondary schools in India were running with a single teacher. This is as per provisional figures of the Unified District Information System of Education (UDISE), 2016-17.

Under UDISE, the pupil-teacher ratio at national level should be 23:1 for primary, 17:1 for upper primary, and 27:1 for secondary schools, the government said. The socio-economic review (SER) report for the year 2021-22 tabled in the assembly stated that Gujarat had 33,348 government-run primary schools in 2020-’21.

The Opposition Congress party pointed out that the government-run primary schools have classes 1 to 8 and a class also has multiple sections. “How does a single teacher manage so many classes and students,” a statement issued by the party said.

In response, the state government said retirements, deaths and transfers of teachers have caused this situation. The government added that the required number of teachers will be appointed as soon as possible.

During Question Hour on Monday, Congress MLA Lalit Kagathara claimed that in Ghanshyamgadh village of Halvad taluka, the native village of Jayanti Kavadiya, vice-president of BJP, there were no teachers and the local school had been closed.

“Similarly, Thorala village in my assembly constituency (Rajkot) which is also the native village of (labour and employment) minister Brijesh Merja does not have a single teacher. Do you plan to make the necessary appointments,” Kagathara asked.

“The government does not have any information regarding this. But this information (that Kagathara gave out) does not appear to be true,” said Education Minister Jitu Vaghani in response to the MLA.

The government also said that 563 posts for Kelavani Nirikshak or assistant education inspector were lying vacant, with only 30 occupied. There are 17 districts that do not have a single inspector. The government also stated through various replies that 132 posts of taluka primary education officer were filled, while 93 posts were lying vacant.