10k+ CG schools rationalised; Will protest: Teachers' body

Time of India

2 days ago

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh govt completed the rationalisation of 10,463 govt schools across the state with the objective of reducing school dropouts and ensuring quality education.
Amidst the proposed Mantralaya gherao by the Shaley Shikshak Sangh Chhattisgarh and its affiliated organisations in protest against certain aspects of the rationalisation process on Wednesday, education department secretary Siddharth Komal Singh Pardeshi told reporters that rationalisation is a continuous process and should be carried out at regular intervals, as mandated by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
The Shikshak Sangh has said that the school education department should listen to the suggestions of teachers as well and should involve them more in the process which has great impact on their lives.
This would in turn also help in improving the quality of education in the state as the solutions can then be implemented on ground more effectively, they maintained. Chhattisgarh Shaley Shikshak Sangh spokesperson Dharmesh Sharma told TOI that they will go ahead with their planned Mantralaya gherao on Wednesday.
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The education department maintained that rationalisation is overdue and would be beneficial for the state.
"Chhattisgarh last undertook a rationalisation exercise about ten years ago, which is a considerable gap, while most states in India have been doing this regularly," the education department secretary said, asserting that the policy focuses solely on improving the quality of education, ensuring equitable distribution of teachers, and reducing dropout rates.
He also stated that there is some misinformation among certain groups regarding the policy.
"We completed the first phase of rationalisation, covering 10,463 schools, including 10,297 located on the same campuses — accounting for 98% of the total. Swami Atmanand Schools have not been included in this phase, and no decision has yet been taken regarding PMSHRI schools," Pardeshi said. Of the rationalised schools, 5,849 are from the E-cadre and 4,614 from the T-cadre.
Key statistics from the rationalisation reveal that it includes 212 primary schools without any teachers, 6,872 primary schools with only one teacher, 48 upper primary schools without teachers, 255 upper primary schools with only one teacher each, and 211 schools without students. Conversely, eight primary schools with 15 or more teachers have been rationalised.
Across the state, 17,000 middle schools have a pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) below 20:1.
In urban areas, 527 schools have a PTR below 10:1, 1,106 have a PTR between 11–20, and 837 fall between 21–30. The PTR in Chhattisgarh is better than the national average but it is uneven across the state.
Pardeshi added, "133 rural schools within a one-kilometre radius and 33 urban schools within a 500-metre radius have also been rationalised." He explained that the initiative will help redeploy surplus teachers to schools with none or only one teacher, thereby improving education quality.
It will also help balance staffing needs across schools and reduce administrative costs, allowing for more investment in infrastructure.
He further said that consolidating schools within the same premises will reduce dropout rates and improve student retention.
This initiative supports the 'cluster school' model outlined in the NEP, which envisions integrated campuses providing education from primary to higher secondary levels.
Pardeshi clarified that the exercise involved only administrative coordination — no posts were abolished.
CM Vishnu Deo Sai lauded the rationalisation initiative, stating that it marks a significant step forward for the state's education system.
He noted that it will facilitate better use of teaching resources and provide students with consistent access to quality education. He added that integrating various school levels within the same campus would be administratively efficient, enhance continuity in education, and address dropout concerns.