Single teachers in 3k schools, no principal in 10k schools: Uttarakhand report

Dehradun: Thousands of schools in Uttarakhand have been functioning without principals or with just one teacher since last April, a state government report said.

“Around 3,504 schools rely on a single teacher, and out of 17,787 schools, 10,470 (approximately 59%) are without a principal, the 210-page report published on March 10 by the state rural development and migration commission said.

The report, throwing light on the challenges in the education sector of the state, revealed around 263 schools lack teachers for various subjects, with 249 of these located in hill districts. Additionally, in 180 schools, 242 teachers are each teaching only one student.

Also, 19,643 classes across the state have no students enrolled, while 8,324 classes have only one student.

“The lack of quality education is a key contributor to the migration problem in the state. We conducted a detailed examination of this issue to better understand the migration problem. We visited schools across the state and met with teachers and officials to prepare the report. It was found that primary schools, in particular, face challenges such as inadequate teachers and the absence of principals,” commission’s vice chairman Sharad Singh Negi said.

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The report suggested that teachers should live within 8-10 km of the school. “There should be documentation of children who drop out due to migration. A separate transfer policy for the education department should be created based on the local situation,” the report added.

Other recommendations include offering special incentives to teachers working in rural areas, promoting e-learning in rural areas, and appointing teachers on a contractual basis.

The commission praised the formation of cluster schools by the education department, and said, “Schools located within a 5 km radius, where there are either too many teachers and too few students, or vice versa, as well as those lacking essential infrastructure, will be merged under the cluster project. This should also be done for Classes 1 to 5 and completed within the next three years.”

Health and higher education minister Dhan Singh Rawat did not respond to HT calls till this article was filed. The story will be updated once he replies.

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The Uttarakhand government formed the rural development and migration commission in August 2017 to examine all aspects of the migration problem, develop a vision for the development of rural areas, and submit recommendations to the government on how to stop migration.

The commission submitted its first statewide report on migration in 2018. The report revealed that 700 villages in the state had been deserted, and over 3.83 lakh people had left their villages in the 10 years prior to 2018, with half of them leaving in search of livelihood. Of nearly 16,500 villages in the state, 734 villages, mostly in hilly areas, had been depopulated.

Permanent migration had significantly decreased between 2018 and 2022, while temporary migration had increased, an interim second statewide report released by the commission in March 2023 said.

According to the report, 24 villages became uninhabited between 2018 and 2022 — nine in Tehri Garhwal, five in Champawat, three each in Pauri Garhwal and Pithoragarh, and two each in Almora and Chamoli. “No villages in Rudraprayag, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, Bageshwar, Uttarkashi, or Dehradun districts became uninhabited after 2018. A total of 734 villages were deserted between 2011 and 2018. In 84 blocks, 6,291 villages still lack road connectivity. Among these, 82 villages have roads over 10 km away, 376 villages have roads between 6 and 10 km away, and 5,828 villages have roads less than 5 km away. Almora district has the worst road connectivity, while every village in Haridwar is connected by road,” the report added.

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The commission also mentioned that around 3,50,000 people returned to the state during the first wave of COVID-19 since March 2020, and 1.15 lakh returned during the second wave in 2021.

However, a senior official from the commission said that, according to their estimate, 90% of them returned to their previous locations once the situation normalised. “The commission is also planning to release a report on reverse migration, including the impact of COVID-19 and the livelihood ecosystem in the hills, to better understand the migration issue,” the official added.