Consider plea on pupil-teacher ratio change for PwD kids
MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday told the state project director of Samagra Shiksha scheme to consider a petition filed by Tamil Nadu Samagra Shiksha Special Educators’ Association for differently-abled persons against fixing the pupil-teacher ratio of 70:1 or 100:1.
The association stated that since 1997, the government has been following the 40:1 ratio. But on December 28, 2022, the project director issued a communication instructing the chief educational officers of all districts in TN to fix the pupil-teacher ratio for PwD students as 70:1 or 100:1, he added.
Further, the petition claimed that the decision violated the guidelines prescribed by the Rehabilitation Council of India, as per which the ratio should be 10:1 in primary schools and 15:1 in secondary schools. Section 25 of the RTE Act says the pupil-teacher ratio should be at least 30:1 in primary schools and 35:1 in secondary schools, he added and requested the court to instruct the authorities not to reduce the strength of special educators and to quash the communication. Justice M Dhandapani directed the project director to take a decision within a month.