To improve the quality of teaching as well as to address the disparities in the pupil-teacher ratio in the six districts of the Kalyana Karnataka region, Additional Commissioner of Public Instructions, Kalaburagi Division, Nalin Atul, has written to the Principal Secretary for Department of Primary and Secondary Education stating that the sanctioned teachers posts lying vacant in other divisions be shifted to the Kalaburagi Division.
As per sources Mr. Atul, who is not only keen on improving SSLC performance but also strengthening the education quality from the primary classes in the six districts, wrote to the department in January 2021 urging the government to ensure pupil-teacher ratio as well as optimum utilisation of the existing vacant posts of teachers in other divisions by shifting them to the Kalyana Karnataka region to remove disparities in pupil-teacher ratio.
The data available with The Hindu shows that the average pupil-teacher ratio in primary government schools in the Kalyana Karnataka region is at 23.02, while the State average is 17.89. There is a glaring gap in the pupil-teacher ratio of Kalyana Karnataka region compared to that of other districts. The ratio of aspirational districts of Yadgir is 27.01 (10 less than the State average) and Raichur 22.87 (five less than the State average).
As many as 34,959 posts have been filled against the total sanctioned 44,935 posts in primary schools in the region. The region requires at least 11,931 additional teachers to achieve the State pupil-teacher ratio average.
As per the Student Achievement Tracking System (SATS) data of 2019-20 academic year, 20 educational districts reported low pupil-teacher ratio than the State average.
Hassan district reported 8.91 pupil-teacher ratio, the lowest, followed by Chikkamangaluru at 9.24 and Kodagu at 9.94. Bidar district in the Kalyana Karnataka region recorded 14.69, which is lower than the State average. The proposal states that the department can address the inequality by shifting the vacant sanctioned posts from those districts having less ratio to the Kalyana Karnataka region, without making fresh recruitments.
Meanwhile, the average ratio in government high schools in the Kalyana Karnataka region is 27.94, while the State average is 23.43. The ratio of high school in Hassan lies at around 12.20, the lowest, while Ballari district recorded the highest ratio of 34.22. As many as 16 educational districts recorded lesser ratio than the State average.
As many as 11,733 teachers are teaching 3,27,822 students enrolled in Classes VIII, IX and X in the region during 2019-20. Considering one teacher for every 50 students, an additional 1,741 teachers are required. The region needs at least 960 additional appointments to record one teacher for every 60 students.
