Written by Jignas Kumar Cherlapally (Sem. II)
A VISIT TO a government primary school in a rural part of Telangana reveals stark realities. The teaching staff are forced to manage multiple classes at the same time. For example, in a primary school with only ten students across different classes, just two teachers are typically allotted. These two teachers are expected to cover the entire curriculum for all grades, which includes teaching up to 20 subjects in a single day. This unrealistic expectation not only overwhelms the teachers but also compromises the quality of education the students receive.
Allocation of teachers based on student numbers is one critical issue that exacerbates the challenges in government schools. To address this, the government must reconsider its teacher allocation policies. Instead of a rigid student-to-teacher ratio, a more flexible approach that accounts for the complexities of multi-grade teaching should be adopted. Additionally, employing teaching aids and support staff can help alleviate the burden on primary educators, allowing them to focus more on effective teaching rather than administrative duties.
Despite such challenges, many government teachers exhibit remarkable commitment and resilience. They frequently employ creative thinking and implement innovative teaching methods to engage students in various activities
Yet, the systemic inadequacies cannot be overlooked. The question remains: how can these teachers ensure a bright future for their students under such constrained circumstances?
The question remains: how can the teachers ensure a bright future for their students under such constraints?
While government schools struggle with insufficient resources, private schools thrive on parents’ aspirations. In Telangana, the hierarchy of educational institutions starkly mirrors the socio-economic divisions within society. Wealthier parents often opt for international schools, which promise a global curriculum and state-of-the-art facilities. Individuals with incomes a notch lower than the top compromise to put their children in schools like Delhi Public School or Hyderabad Public School.
Financially less privileged parents gravitate towards institutions like Sri Chaitanya and Narayana, which focus intensively on preparing students for competitive exams such as IIT-JEE. For families which are economically even more disabled, move to private e-techno schools which become the next best option, offering a semblance of quality education at a relatively lower cost. The last rung of this ladder consists of street private schools, which operate with minimal infrastructure and often unqualified staff, yet still charge fees that strain the finances of the poorest families.
This stratification highlights a disturbing trend: the commodification of education. Private schools, driven by profit motives, exploit the desperation of parents striving to secure a better future for their children. This system perpetuates inequality, leaving government schools as a last resort for those with no financial means, thereby stigmatising them as inferior.
The Common School System brings children from diverse backgrounds — from the children of MLAs to those of farmers — to attend the same school.
The idea of a Common School System holds a lot of promise. This system brings children from diverse backgrounds — from the children of MLAs to those of farmers — to attend the same school. This idea was aimed to eliminating disparities and to promote social integration from a young age. It emphasises the need to reduce educational disparities by improving the quality of government schools and making them as attractive as private institutions. It stands neglected as well.
Implementing this requires a multifaceted approach. First, the funding of government schools must be increased to ensure they have good infrastructure and teaching resources. Teachers should be trained to effectively manage multi-grade classrooms and diverse subjects.
One of the most significant barriers to achieving educational equity is the prevailing mindset among parents. Those with higher incomes naturally gravitate towards international or elite public schools, while those with lower incomes settle for less reputed private institutions, only turning to government schools as a last resort.
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