Survey: Govt schoolteachers overburdened

Bhubaneswar: Teachers in the state’s government schools are facing difficulties in discharging their duties, according to the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021.
Teachers disclosed issues like lack of adequate instruction materials and supplies, adequate workspace, toilet facilities and scarcity of drinking water.
The survey also revealed that more than 25% teachers in the state schools are overburdened while around 40% teachers participated in professional development courses. According to the survey, more than 20% teachers in Classes III, V and XIII said they have adequate instruction material and supplies while only 16% teachers for Class X said they have the required materials for teaching students in schools.
The survey also brought out gaps in infrastructure as over 30 teachers in classes of III, V and XIII and X said they have adequate workspace, means more than 60% teachers in the state do not have a proper workspace.
The teachers also mentioned that they do not have toilets and drinking water facilities at schools.
Of the total, around 23%, 22%, 24% and 29% teachers of classes III, V and XIII and X said they do not have adequate toilet facilities in the state while 21%, 20%, 18% and 20% teachers of the same classes said they do not have drinking water facilities in school.
Similarly, 40% of teachers in the state said their school buildings need major repairs.
As many as 24%, 23%, 22% and 19% teachers of all the classes of III, V and XIII and X said they are overloaded with work respectively. A total of 64% head teachers said their schools don’t have qualified teaching staff.
More than half of the teachers of the state were also not taking professional development programmes, the survey pointed out. While 52% teachers in class III and V took part in the programmes, the number of teachers reduced to 40% in class X.
The NAS findings will help compare the performance across the spectrums and serve as input to move in the desirable direction and areas for remedial intervention.
“While the Odisha government has been spending crores of rupees on 5T transformation of schools and augmenting infrastructure, the survey pointed out the glaring gaps in the system,” said Prakash Chandra Mohanty, secretary of Odisha State Secondary Teachers Association (OSSTA).