Lone teacher schools reel under govt pressure to enrol more students

Ludhiana, July 24

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Every year, instructions are sent to government schools to increase enrolment. This ‘undue pressure’ is being felt the hardest by schools with just one teacher.

Taking strong exception to the situation, Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) recently met with the District Education Officer (Elementary) to discuss the issue. Union members said the state government’s Education Department was only concerned with issuing formal orders rather than taking responsibility for increasing the number of students in schools.

According to the DTF, while teachers are being pressured to give up their teaching duties and conduct surveys of ‘out-of-school students’, no attention is being given to filling teacher vacancies and improving school infrastructure.

Daljit Samrala, district president, DTF, and Jagdeep Singh, sarpanch of Chahlan village, recently met with the DEO to discuss the issues faced by the village’s Government Middle School, which had 87 students and was managed by just one teacher.

“Until July 20, 2023, the school was managed by two teachers on deputation. However, they have returned to their parent school after a letter was issued cancelling the temporary arrangement. There is currently widespread angst among the gram panchayat and residents. They have also warned to protest against the Education Department over mismanagement,” Samrala said.

The DTF delegation also deliberated on other schools where lone teachers were responsible for all non-teaching duties. They urged the DEO to raise the issue with higher-ups so that the quality of education was not affected and teachers were not put under unnecessary pressure.