The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Educationally backward districts have fewer teachers

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Monday, Mar 31, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Educationally backward districts have fewer teachers

Bageshree S.

40,272 children are out of school in Gulbarga division

Bangalore: It is logical for educationally backward areas to have a good strength of teachers so that they can pay greater attention to individual students.

The situation in Karnataka, however, is completely to the contrary.

Data from the Educational Management Information System (EMIS) shows that most districts in the northern parts of Karnataka, which figure low on indicators of education, have fewer teachers in primary schools compared with districts in the rest of the State.

The lowest are Raichur and Koppal at one teacher for 36 students, followed by Bellary (30), Gulbarga (29), Bijapur (28) and Dharwad (28). The ratio is worse in Raichur, if lower secondary schools are also taken into account, one teacher per 42 students.

At the other end of the spectrum are Tumkur (14), Mandya (15), Bangalore Rural (15), Chikmagalur (16), Hassan (16), Shimoga (17), Kodagu (17), Udupi (17) and Uttara Kannada (17), which fare better on educational indicators compared with the northern parts. Districts such as Mysore, Dakshina Kannada and Madhugiri also have one teacher for less than 20 students.

Ironical situation

This is an ironical situation because the district that has the worst student-teacher ratio, Raichur, also shows the worst educational progress among all districts as shown in the Human Development Index, 2005.

It notes that the General Enrolment Ratio of the district has been the lowest in the State from 1996-97 to 2001-02, indicating that “Raichur will need special attention” to catch up with the rest of the State.

The census of out-of-school children for 2008 indicates that the Gulbarga division (which includes Bellary, Bidar, Gulbarga, Koppal, Raichur and Yadgir) accounts for 40,272 children out of school, which is more than half of the total number of 72,365 in the State, further underlining the need for greater attention to this region.

Barring exceptions, a typical government primary school in most parts of Karnataka may no longer be a place where few teachers struggle with overcrowded classes. EMIS data shows that the average student-teacher ratio is within the mandatory 40:1 in most districts. But there is clearly a vast disparity between districts in the ratio.

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