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Teacher Surplus, Falling Enrolment Plague Nazira Primary Schools; RTI Reply Raises Questions

By SK Hasan |

Despite having nearly a thousand teachers on its rolls, as many as 319 Lower Primary (LP), Middle English (ME), and Middle English schools under the Nazira Primary Education Block are functioning with a total student enrolment of only 27,077, averaging about 84 students per school.

As per official norms, there should be one teacher for every 30 students. Based on this guideline, the total enrolment in the block would require approximately 903 teachers. However, nearly 1,200 teachers are currently posted across these schools, far exceeding the required number.

While schools located in urban and easily accessible areas reportedly have an excess number of teachers compared to student strength, many remote and peripheral schools continue to face an acute shortage of teaching staff. This uneven distribution has adversely affected the overall quality of education. Despite repeated claims and slogans of improvement by the government, the issue remains largely unaddressed.

At the same time, the steady decline in student enrolment in Assamese-medium government schools has emerged as a serious concern. Despite the government spending crores of rupees on infrastructure development and teachers’ salaries, the quality of education has shown little improvement. Consequently, many aware parents are reluctant to enrol their children in these schools. Notably, even teachers working in government schools reportedly prefer to send their own children to private institutions, highlighting the prevailing lack of confidence in the system.

In another significant development, an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, seeking details of funds allocated and utilised under the Samagra Shiksha scheme for these 319 schools during the previous year, received an unexpected response. The Nazira Block Elementary Education Office reportedly stated that it was unable to provide any information regarding fund allocation or expenditure.

The absence of such crucial financial records at the block office has raised serious questions about transparency and accountability. Furthermore, the department allegedly declined to provide school-wise data on student enrolment and teacher deployment, citing unspecified reasons, fuelling suspicions of deliberate suppression of information.

Observers say that due to such administrative lapses, government schools are steadily losing their educational standards and, in many cases, are functioning in a quasi-commercial manner rather than as service-oriented institutions. As a result, several government schools are being shut down. Continued reluctance by the authorities to share information and ensure transparency, even amid this decline, points towards deeper systemic irregularities within the education administration.

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