Science teacher 1, pupils 570 in Bihar secondary schools

PATNA: The pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) is far from satisfactory in the elementary and secondary schools of the state with respect to the Right to Education (RTE) norms. Only 8% of upper primary schools are having teachers for three core subjects and 29.20% of secondary schools are having teachers for all the core subjects.
These facts have came to the light at the recent meeting of the Project Approval Board of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (an integrated scheme for school education) for finalising the annual plan and budget of the state for 2022-23. As per the data made available, subject PTR at the upper primary level is 282 for language, 147 for mathematics and science and 387 for social studies. RTE norms suggest one teacher for every 30 pupils.
Worse is the situation in secondary schools of the state. The PTR at the secondary level is 271 for language, 552 for mathematics, 570 for science and 410 for social studies. The overall PTR in elementary and secondary schools is 56 and 60, respectively.
Surprisingly, there are 18,112 surplus teachers at the elementary level, while the number of single teacher schools has increased at the primary level. The number of schools with adverse PTR is also quite high at 61.69% and 70.49% at the primary and upper primary level.
There were 2.27 lakh vacant posts of teachers in government elementary schools against which 41,772 elementary teachers have been recruited and deployed in the schools during 2021-22. There are 21,480 vacant posts of subject teachers and 3,929 vacant posts of head teachers in government secondary schools.
The gross enrolment ratio (GER) at the secondary level is 58.4% in Bihar which is among the lowest in the country. At least seven districts, including Araria, Katihar and Purnia have less than 50% GER. However, the situation has improved a bit as per U-DISE 2020-21.
The overall dropout rate is 21.4% The drop-out rate at the secondary level is more than 25% in 11 districts, including Supaul (39.7), Darbhanga (33.2), Madhepura (31.4), Vaishali (27), West Champaran (26.9), Saharsa (26.6), Buxar (26.3), Katihar (26.3), Madhubani (25.6), Sitamarhi (25.5) and East Champaran (25.4).
Expressing his concern at the poor pupil -eacher ratio in elementary and secondary education in the state, State TET Teachers’ Association president Amit Vikram said lack of teachers has been adversely affecting the quality of education in the state. “The process of appointment of teachers is moving at a snail’s pace and consequently, a large number of posts of teachers both in elementary and secondary schools remain vacant for the last several years,” Vikram said.