Shortage of 2,082 teachers in primary schools of 2 dists: Gujarat govt

The government in a written reply said there was a shortage of 1,708 primary teachers in Ahmedabad district of which 1,085 are in Ahmedabad city.

The shortage of teachers is in classes 1-8. Similarly, as of December 2022, there was a shortage of 374 teachers in Gandhinagar district of which 67 are in Gandhinagar city, the government said in reply to a question asked by Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar.

In both these districts, there was a shortage of 168 language teachers, 222 science and maths teachers and 172 social studies teachers, the government stated in the written reply.

In a separate reply to a question asked by Congress MLA Arun Modhwadia, the government said seven of the nine primary schools in Porbandar districts did not have electricity, while 54 similar schools in Junagadh district did not have a compound wall.

The government in its defence has assured to provide electricity to schools through solar power.

During the Question Hour on Wednesday, when Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Hemant Ahir asked the government for a timeline for filling up vacant posts of teachers in Jamnagar and Devbhoomi Dwarka districts where 54 schools have only a single teacher, Praful Pansheriya, Minister of State for primary education defended saying, “We are taking help of visiting teachers in providing education… Currently 102 visiting teachers have been posted in Jamnagar district and 256 visiting teachers in Devbhoomi Dwarka district.”

He pointed out that transfers and retirements in these districts have caused the situation.

Pointing to the student-teacher ratio in these schools, the minister gave the example of Jodiya taluka in Jamnagar district where there were two schools with a single teacher.

“There are only eight students studying in classes 1-5, still there is a dedicated teacher for them… We do not want to close down the schools, but we want to take the education forward even with visiting teachers.”

The government also stated that there were 905 posts of primary teachers lying vacant in Jamnagar (330 teachers) and Devbhumi Dwarka districts (575 teachers).