UP teacher has 727 students, 3 schools, 3 villages

He was told that he would have to manage two other schools as well. That was two years back.

Today, he remains the busiest educator on the rolls of his state—one man handling three schools, each with five classes and a total of 727 students. The quality of education that his students receive is another matter.

Although Uttar Pradesh has been boasting of its successes in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and claims that it has one teacher for every 54 students, Chaturvedi would tell you a different story.

As evidence, he can point to his second-hand scooter. He used to ride a bicycle till two months ago, but found it impossible to shuttle between three schools on the same day—especially since Gadhora and Uttar Kaudh, his other two charges, are more than 5 km away from Bere Mau.

So now the 1999 batch teacher has roped in a maulvi from the local mosque to look after Bere Mau school when he is visiting the other schools—something he tries to do at least five times a month.

Some months back, the Gadhora and Uttar Kaudh schools were allotted one contract teacher each, but they are supposed to work under Chaturvedi’s supervision.

On the day we visit, he reaches the Bere Mau school at 10 am. The children from Classes I to V are sorted into five rows. But when he calls out the names of the students in the two most junior classes, no one replies. ‘‘They don’t speak at all,’’ he grumbles. Her gets the older students to identify those who have showed up from Classes I and II. The numbers are important for one simple reason: ‘‘Only then will I know how much we have to cook for the mid-day meal,’’ he explains.

The head-count is 150. Satisfied, Chaturvedi delegates the teaching responsibilities to the class monitors. The boy from Class V shouts ‘‘E for Elephant’’. In no time, five different class monitors are singing out five different themes which their classmates repeat after them. There are no walls separating the classes and the words drown each other out. Chaturvedi leaves for the Gadhora school, only to find that the trainee teacher has not turned up, some interns have taken charge. Chaturvedi is only interested in the attendance register. That done, he heads for Uttar Kaudh. He need not have bothered. All the students have gone home because there was no one to attend to them.

Still, Chaturvedi has done all that he could. Some 25 registers have been maintained. The mid-day meal scheme is running as well as possible. He has managed to make lists of minority, SC and OBC students.

The only thing he has not done is teach. ‘‘His must be a stray case,’’ says Primary Education Minister Kiran Pal Singh.