BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to comply with the RTE Act and maintain healthy pupil-teacher ratio, the State Government has started a massive exercise to rationalise the number of teachers in primary and upper primary schools.
The School and Mass Education Department has asked the Collectors and CEOs of Zilla Parishads (ZPs) to complete the rationalisation process that entails transfer of elementary and ZP teachers within August 2.
The objective is to comply with the provision of the RTE Act for maintaining a pupil-teacher ratio of 30:1 for primary and 35:1 for upper primary schools and ensure at least two teachers in every school.
Transfer Committees in each education district have been formed with Collector as chairperson and District Education Officer (DEO) as the member convener to decide, execute and monitor the shuffling of the teachers to meet the stipulations. The teachers should, however, be transferred and adjusted within the same block.
As per the guidelines, posting of teachers in single teacher schools would have to be done on priority basis. No school satisfying the norms of enrolment of 40 children in non-Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) areas and 25 in TSP areas should be left with only one teacher.
There should be a minimum of two teachers in primary school, four including at least one graduate teacher in upper primary school having Class I-VII and five in schools having classes till VIII with at least one graduate science teacher.
The guidelines have mandated posting of woman teachers and teachers with disabilities in schools that have proper road connectivity and public conveyance facility. Husband and wife couples will be considered for posting in the same or nearby schools.
In a circular issued to the Collectors and ZP CEOs, the SME Department has asked them to convene the Transfer Committee meeting and finalise the rationalisation process by July 26 and then complete the transfers and joining of teachers at their respective posts within August 2. The Committees should ensure that no major dislocation takes place in schools and inconvenience caused to students while undertaking the process.