At a time when the widening gap of student-teacher ratio in government schools in the state is a cause of concern, in the schools for migrant, known as migrant schools, which have been opened by the government in the winter capital, there is entirely different scenario. In some schools, teachers outnumber students enrolled. Further, some of the schools are having zero enrolment of students.
Migrant schools were established in 1990 after the migration of 3.50 lakh Kashmiri Hindus from the Valley. Initially, these institutions were opened at Muthi, Purkhoo, Mishriwala and Nagrota. The teaching staff comprised Pandit teachers who migrated from the Valley due to the turmoil. Other areas where the schools have been opened include Bakshi Nagar, Shastri Nagar and Patta Bohri.
Sources say Government Higher Secondary School for Migrants at Satwari has zero enrolment of students, but the strength of teaching staff is more than 50. Same is the case with a migrant school in Shastri Nagar, where there is no student.
“There are many government schools in the city, including high schools and higher secondary schools, where there is shortage of qualified staff like masters and lecturers. On a number of occasions, the department was apprised of this issue, but in vain. We, in fact, had proposed to shift the surplus teaching staff posted in migrant schools having meagre enrolment to these schools for their smooth functioning, but unfortunately it did not happen”, a source said.
“On one hand, the government is saying that teachers of government schools will be given salary depending upon their performance to improve academic results and on the other hand, teachers in migrant schools where there is zero or meagre enrolment continue to enjoy perks without any delay,” he maintained.
“Teachers under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and other Centrally sponsored schemes always struggle to get their salaries on time, but the teaching staff in migrant schools have no such difficulty whatsoever,” said a teacher.
Mohammad Javed, Joint Director, Education Department, and in charge of migrant schools, told that there had been surplus staff in many migrant schools in the city where the enrolment of students was quite low.
When asked about the reasons behind poor enrolment in these schools, Javed said, “Moving of parents to other places is the main reason behind poor enrolment in migrant schools. Most of the families are living on rent near the schools, but when they construct their own house they shift to other places and their children, too, get admission cancelled from the school.”
Teachers outnumber students in migrant schools
