‘Aggregate TPR of Govt schools 1:11 against 1:30’
Riyaz Bhat
Srinagar : In Jammu and Kashmir, the School Education Department has failed to maintain the recommended Teacher-Pupil Ratio (TPR) wherein most of the government-run-schools have either deficit of students or surplus teachers.
Top officials of the department said that the aggregate TPR of the government schools across Jammu and Kashmir is 1:11.
However, the government in the recommended guidelines said that there should be a TPR of 1:30, a teacher for 30 students.
“There are nearly 1, 35,000 government teachers across JK that are teaching around 15 lakh students creating a TPR of 1.11,” an official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO)
“In Kashmir division, 6.5 lakh students are being taught by 21,000 general line teachers, 6,000 RRT, 18,000 grade II and III teachers, 7,000 masters and around 5 lecturers,” he said.
The official added that the normal TPR in government-run-schools remains nearly 1:12 in elementary schools and 1:19 in higher secondary schools. “In most of the districts, the ratio is almost good but in Srinagar that is reeling in an average of 1:8 to 1:9 TPR is the worst hit,” he added.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Secretary to government for School Education Department Asgar Samoon said, “From both elementary and secondary school, access to education is being given to 15 lakh students that are enrolled in 23000 government schools across UT of JK.”
“86000 elementary teachers are proposed to be trained under NISHTHA programme in collaboration with NCERT,” he said.
“Besides 1000 teachers are being imparted School Leadership training involving global expertise resource persons,” Samoon posted on his twitter handle. He said that 38000 RETs regularized and their capacity building started under the IMPACT program.
“8.2 lakh elementary school kids are provided daily Mid Day Meals (MDM) and free textbooks (54 lakh books during 2019) and 3 lac students have been provided study material. For the first time 12 lakh School health cards are being distributed and 7 lakh cards distributed so far,” he said— (KNO)