Human right activists have petitioned school education and literacy department of Jharkhand demanding appointment of teachers in government schools functioning with single teachers.

A delegation led by developmental economist Jean Dreze submitted a letter to the secretary of school education and literacy department, Uma Shankar Singh on Monday urging “to act on the severe and growing shortage of teachers at the primary and upper primary levels in Jharkhand”.

The letter also reminds that this appeal follows similar appeals made earlier, “without success” by parents and children from Latehar and Giridih districts of the state.

The letter cites the government’s own UDISE data which states 30 per cent of government primary schools in Jharkhand had a single teacher in 2021-2022 which is a gross violation of Right to Education (RTE) Act which clearly states that all primary schools should have at least two teachers.

“The situation is no better in upper primary level. The RTE Act prescribes a minimum of five teachers in each school, but in Jharkhand 63 per cent of upper primary schools fall short of this norm. Nearly four per cent are run by a single teacher as per UDISE 2021-2022,” the letter states.

Incidentally, Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) is a database about schools in India prepared by government departments.

“Jharkhand has 6,900 single-teacher schools, of which 6,400 are primary schools where a majority of the enrolled children belong to Dalit and Adivasi families.

“Thirty per cent of all government primary schools in the state continue to function with only one teacher. Despite several agitations, no new appointments have taken place for these schools,” said Paran Amitava who also signed on the letter.

“It is a great injustice to the children of Jharkhand that they are sent to such schools. There should be one teacher for every 30 children and at least two teachers in every school, as per the law (RTE Act). We met many children who are in fifth class but are not able to read. It does not mean that the child is unable to learn, but it means that the child has not been taught properly,” Dreze had said in September last year during a public protest at Manika in Latehar.

School suspension

With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing red heatwave alert in Jharkhand along with Bihar, Odisha and Gangetic Bengal and almost districts of the state reporting over 40°C, the Jharkhand education department on Monday evening issued a directive for suspension of classes between kindergarten to eight till further orders for both private and government schools.