Gloom in the Classroom: The Schooling Crisis in Jharkhand

The survey found a considerable shortage of teachers in the surveyed school – 20 per cent of schools had only one teacher. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 dictates that each school must have at least two teachers. The report notes that almost 90 per cent of students in single-teacher schools were members of Dalit and Adivasi communities.

Around half (53 per cent) of primary school and 19 per cent of upper-primary schools had a student-teacher ratio below 30, that is, one teacher for every 30 students.

A considerable percentage of teachers in primary and upper-primary schools were in fact para-teachers – 55 and 37 per cent respectively. The survey also found that as high as 40 per cent of primary schools were handled by para-teachers alone.

The report notes the low attendance in the schools surveyed. The day of the survey attendance in primary schools was recorded at 68 per cent. Attendance was lower in upper-primary at 58 per cent.

Even basic infrastructure required to maintain a well-functioning institution was in poor condition in several schools, the survey found. No school surveyed had all three – functional toilets, water supply and electricity. Around 15 per cent of primary schools and five per cent of upper-primary schools did not have functioning toilets. In a few schools, functioning toilets were found locked and available only to the teachers.

The report states that two out of every three primary schools lacked boundary walls and playgrounds. Additionally, 37 per cent did not have library books.

Two-thirds of the teachers interviewed reported not having enough funds for mid-day meals at the time of the survey. Several schools were reported not serving eggs two times a week, as prescribed under the mid-day meal scheme.

The survey highlights the diverse composition of teachers which appears to reflect the population distribution of the state itself. Of all the teachers in the surveyed schools, 25 per cent were from the general category. Of the remaining 75 per cent, 12 per cent were from Scheduled Castes, 25 per cent from Scheduled Tribes and 38 per cent from Other Backward Classes.

The report also comments on a ‘lack of earnestness’ demonstrated by teachers and the administration. In one of the schools surveyed in Latehar district, the volunteers reported dilapidated facilities, unpaid salaries and a lack of adequate water and meals. Students from the school also stated having forgotten to read and write; they had been provided no textbooks and complained that they weren’t being taught.

Although there are exceptions, the lack of enthusiasm in improving the condition of schools in Jharkhand has led to decades of neglect, the report notes. The effect of covid-19 has worsened the state of schooling. The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights which is supposed to oversee the proper implementation of the Right to Education Act had not even been set up in the state, the report adds.

Focus and Factoids by Yaajushi Hulgundi.