Now Reading: Odisha orders district collectors to end single-teacher schools in a month
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Odisha orders district collectors to end single-teacher schools in a month
The Odisha government has directed all district collectors to ensure that every elementary school has the minimum number of teachers required under the Right to Education (RTE) Act within one month. School…
The Story in Brief
The Odisha government has directed all district collectors to ensure that every elementary school has the minimum number of teachers required under the Right to Education (RTE) Act within one month. School and Mass Education Secretary N Thirumala Naik issued the order on August 6, citing UDISE+ data showing that 1,458 government schools in the state have only one teacher each, affecting nearly 60,000 students. Collectors have been told to prioritise schools with higher enrolment and submit an action-taken report within 15 days.
The Indian Opinion
The 'single-teacher school' narrative is often used to bash government education, but the real story is more nuanced. Many such schools serve remote hamlets where enrolment is too low to justify multiple teachers under RTE norms. The real test is not just deploying more teachers but ensuring they actually teach, attendance, accountability, and learning outcomes matter more than headcount. Will the collectors focus on paperwork compliance or on ensuring that children in those 1,458 schools actually learn to read and write? The answer will determine if this is genuine reform or just another bureaucratic exercise.
Source: timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
