Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Tanveer Sait has said that the state government would consider increasing the number of women teachers for the state level “Best Teacher” awards.
Responding to a question raised by BJP member Tara Anuradha during question hour on Friday, Mr. Sait clarified that as of now, there was no ratio fixed as such while selecting teachers for the “Best Teacher” awards. “But, we will consider the demand and take a decision in consultation with officials concerned,” he said.
Earlier, speaking on the written reply, Ms. Tara pointed out that among the total 152 awards given from 2013-14 onwards, 116 teachers were men and only 36 were women, putting the ratio at 1:2.8. She said that as per the data given by the department, of the 1,66,136 teachers in primary schools, 80,281 were men and 85,855 were women.
“When more number of women teachers are serving in primary schools, it is surprising to see that male teachers who were less in number are getting awards compared to female teachers. Does it mean women are not better teachers?” she asked.
Ms. Tara also highlighted the sorry state of toilets and rest rooms for women teachers in the government primary schools and said they were facing hardships due to lack of toilets at their work place.
The Minister, however, assured to address the issue raised by Ms. Tara.
