Meghalaya has many schools with an enrollment of only two to three students under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme, compelling the state government to take steps to rationalize the placement of teachers in such schools with single-digit enrollment to match the teacher-pupil ratio.
Replying to a question raised by Congress MLA from Mahendraganj constituency, Dikkanchi Dalbot Shira during question hour in Assembly on Wednesday, Education Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui admitted that the state has many schools under SSA with single-digit enrollment of students.
Though the teacher-pupil ratio is 1:30, Rymbui informed that there are schools with two teachers teaching only two or four students.
Rymbui informed that there are 395 lower primary schools with 808 teachers and 508 upper primary schools having with 1, 874 teachers.
“The government is in the process to rationalize the teachers in the SSA schools so that resources of the government are not wasted,” Rymbui said.
Raising a supplementary question, Shira pointed out that there are two to three schools set up within 1 to 2 km, to which Rymbui informed that according to norms, setting up of a lower primary school should be within the vicinity of 1 km and upper primary school within 3 km from the village.
“The effort of streamlining the system is still in the planning stage right now and few preliminary steps proposed to be taken include GSI mapping of all schools,” the Minister said.