Teachers hired, classes resume after 4 months at govt school

Ghaziabad: On Wednesday, students returned to the govt primary school at Kaila Bhatta for regular classes after a gap of nearly four months. Though 115 children are enrolled here, regular classes could not be held because there were no teachers.
Since 2022, seven teachers were assigned to Kaila General Primary School 1, but none stayed back. Its principal, meanwhile, asked the children to attend classes at another govt school.For the last three months, students were attending classes at another school about 1 km away.

After a TOI report in March, the education department intervened and appointed two new teachers for the school and classes resumed after the summer vacations.
“For the first time in many months, classes were held as per timetable. None of the periods were suspended due to lack of teachers,” Roshni, a class 3 student, said.
Her mother Saima said that in April, she was asked to send Roshni to another school for classes. “There too, classes were not held regularly. So, we stopped sending her to school. We might be poor with limited means, but our children have dreams. Ones that can be realised only if they get access to education,” she said.
Suhani, a class 2 student said frequent changes in teachers not only hampered studies but also created problems for them to adapt to the way of teaching. “Every teacher introduced different methods of learning. It left us so confused. I hope that this time the new teachers are here to stay,” she said.
Narendra Kumar, the block education officer, told TOI that the two teachers were transferred from primary schools in Nandgram and Akbarpur.
“Classes will not be hampered anymore. I have also recommended the basic shiksha adhikari to suspend principal Anjali Singh, who has been absent for three years,” Kumar said.
BSA OP Yadav said they have set up a panel, comprising two BEOs and other officials, that will inquire into the conduct of the principal.
Since 2011 there has been no fresh recruitment of teachers in the district, creating a scarcity of teaching staff. Officials said several teachers have either been promoted or retired since 2011, which has created a huge gap in the teacher-student ratio.
As a stopgap arrangement, teachers are mostly shuffled between different schools as per requirement.
Education department data shows nearly 85,000 positions for headmasters and assistant teachers are vacant in govt schools across UP.
In Ghaziabad, at least 18 primary schools, each with more than 100 students on rolls, have only one teacher.
“Once the teacher recruitment process or transfer process starts, we will provide more teachers at the school,” the BSA said.
Lack of teachers, however, is among one of the many problems facing the school. On his first day at work, Neeraj Kumar said the school lacked basic amenities. “Once there is a power cut, the classrooms are so dark that we can’t take classes. There is no ventilation either. The school needs immediate development,” he said.
Officials, meanwhile, said frequent suspension of classes affected the enrolment rate at the school, which came down to 115 this academic session from 150 in the previous year.