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New Delhi: Teachers battle poor working conditions in India’s northeast and in so-called aspirational districts, and there are disparities in basic amenities like toilets between urban and rural schools, a Unesco report said on Tuesday.
“Most of the aspirational districts have a higher percentage of single-teacher schools compared to the state. This is indicative of the challenges that the districts probably face with regard to staffing,” said the report released on World Teachers’ Day. “The proportion of women teachers in the selected aspirational districts is far lower than the state and in comparison with the all-India figure of 50%.”
India defines aspirational districts as those that are poor in socioeconomic and human development indicators, and are in need of focussed efforts to improve overall conditions.
The report – 2021 State of the Education Report for India: No Teachers, No Class – had selected seven aspirational districts, including Firozpur in Punjab, Nandurbar in Maharashtra, Raichur in Karnataka, Gumla in Jharkhand, Udalguri in Assam, Dantewada in Chhattisgarh and Ri-Bhoi in Meghalaya.
Although in terms of accessibility, schools in the aspirational districts compared well with overall accessibility of schools in their respective states, with the exception of Gumla, they fare poorly while providing for separate and working toilets for girls and boys. Access to electricity is also lower in rural schools.
“Special attention needs to be paid to rural areas, districts with high scheduled caste and tribe populations, and all across India’s north-east, where the ratio of teachers to students needs to improve and be rationalized. Working conditions in these ‘difficult to staff’ regions also need to be improved, including basic amenities, better provisioning of libraries, and access to information and communications technology,” the Unesco report said. “More state support for teacher education programmes is desirable in these regions.”
Highlighting that there is a deficit of one million teachers in the country, the report said there is a need to strengthen recruitment. “In about 15 years, 27% of the current workforce will need to be replaced. The workforce has a deficit of over 1 million teachers (at current student strength), and is likely to grow overall,” the report said.
The third edition of the state of education report, an annual flagship report of the Unesco, analysed data from the Unified District Information System for Education 2018-19 and the periodic labour force survey 2018-19.
It revealed that teaching has just “average status” in India, but it is a career of choice for women and youth, particularly in rural areas.
Calling it an overall gender-balanced profession, the report said some sectors like early childhood, special education and private unaided schools show a preponderance of woman teachers. “This may have to do with lower salaries, rendering teaching jobs as second incomes to be taken up by women. It is noticed that states high in postgraduate institutions are also states with a high proportion of women teachers,” it said.
The report recommended more “professional autonomy” for teachers. “Teacher autonomy is essential for ensuring a learning environment that addresses the diverse needs of children,” the report said. ”Currently, the system of administrative hierarchies and control, examinations, and centralized planning for curriculum reform, constrain the autonomy of the headmaster and teacher.”
It also advocated recognising teachers as front line workers amid the Covid-19 pandemic and highlighted prevailing job security concerns among private schools and contractual teachers.
“It is time for the world to recognize the exceptional role teachers play in the life of children,” said Sridhar Srivastava, director, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). “NCERT is committed to empower them with training, professional development and academic support.”
“We need to invest our efforts in their capacity building and professional development, so that educators can enrich their practice to adapt to diverse learners’ needs,” Srivastava said.
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