Std 8 students sans teachers!

BANGALORE: No classrooms, no infrastructure, no teachers, yet 2,600 higher primary schools could soon begin eighth standard classes. It''s just a month since the Karnataka government decided to link eighth standard to higher primary.
Educationists, teachers and administrators alike are questioning the rationale of the decision, which they say has been taken without providing infrastructure or trained teachers to handle eighth standard classes.
The state government took the decision in accordance with the Raja Ramanna Education Task Force recommendations. "It is unfortunate the government took the decision without allowing a public debate or at least a survey on whether higher primary schools are prepared to facilitate the change. Where is the infrastructure to back the decision?" an administrator asked.
The Raja Ramanna Education Task Force had specified that infrastructure facilities, including teaching staff, should first be put in place. It also stated that two trained graduate teachers should be employed in higher primary classes to teach science/maths and English/social sciences to eighth standard students.
That means a requirement of around 5,000 additional teachers. The government order which attaches eighth standard with higher primary says B.Ed-trained teachers of high schools should be deployed to neighbouring higher primary schools being upgraded.
"Such temporary deployment of teachers cannot provide a permanent solution. It is laden with practical difficulties," an educationist contended.
Commissioner for public instruction V.P. Baligar is, however, confident that the government will soon tide over the problem of teachers'' shortage. "We appealed to the Centre to permit us to recruit 2,600 teachers — one teacher to each upgraded higher primary school — under the Sarva Shikshana Abhiyan (SSA) programme. The Centre has agreed in principle, we are awaiting formal approval to recruit trained graduate teachers," he said.
A proposal to appoint 3,800 high school teachers is pending. "They will be recruited shortly and be asked to handle eighth standard classes. A few in-service high school teachers will also be deployed to neighbouring higher primary schools," he added.
Reacting to the lack of infrastructure like classrooms and laboratories, Baligar said several school development monitoring committees (SDMCs) have donated funds for classrooms.
"We have also asked deputy directors to check the preparedness of higher primary schools to accommodate eighth standard. If they find schools do not possess the required infrastructure, they can put off implementation to next year," he added.