KALABURAGI: The government has often floated the proposal of closing down primary schools that have a single teacher. If that is done, thousands of students in Kalaburagi region will be at the receiving end. The region has 75 schools with at least 100 students but only one permanent teacher in each.
Kalaburagi region comprises Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Ballari districts. According to Public Instruction Department, in 2017-18, these ‘overcrowded’ schools will have to function with a single permanent teacher this academic year too.
As per the information, in the entire region, Shorapur taluk of Yadgir district has the highest number of 16 such schools with a single permanent teacher. Shahapur has eight such schools and Yadgir taluk has one.
In Kalaburagi district, there are three such schools in Jewargi taluk, two each in Chittapur and Chincholi taluks, one each in Afzalpur and Aland taluks. In Raichur district, there are seven schools in Devadurga and Manvi taluks, four and one in Raichur and Lingsugur taluks, respectively.
In Koppal district, there are three schools each in Gangavati and Manvi taluks. In Ballari district, there are nine schools in Siraguppa taluk, five schools in Sandur taluk and one school each in Ballari and Hosapete taluks. Appointing permanent teachers in the ratio of 40:1 is mandatory as the government cannot fix accountability on guest teachers, experts in the department said.
However, official sources told Express that as and when the school development management committees and permanent teachers feel necessary, there is a provision to appoint guest teachers. And in many single-teacher schools, such provisions were made. Vithal Chikani, director of Samskara Pratisthana, which works on children’s welfare activities, said having a single teacher for over 100 students in government schools is a violation of the Right to Education Act.