Opinion | Rationalisation: The Prerogative in Education Department to Maintain Pupil Teacher Ratio 

Rationalization of school teachers is a process which solely aims at resolving the issue of surplus teachers in various schools.

Rationalization in the education department has also gained momentum as and when the new academic session gets commenced in UT of Jammu and Kashmir. Adoption of this method to streamline the teaching staff in all government schools now became an indispensable part of the education department. There is no denying fact that this system has previously yielded desired results. To rationalize or deploy teaching staff only aimed at the transfer of teachers and masters where the role of the students in schools are adequate. The department is doing this practice for the benefit of the students enrolled in schools. Such steps taken by the department received accolades and applause from the general public. The government of J&K has taken an initiative to rationalize education by closing down those schools which have a very small roll of children compared to the number of teachers posted there so that resource optimization is achieved. It is a welcome move, in that there are many schools in urban areas where the number of teachers has been greater than the number of students. Those at the helm of affairs must bear one thing in mind that rationalization should  not be based on nepotism, favouritism etc. Under NEP 2020 there shall be the mobile system laboratory for science practicals, that any secondary school where an infrastructure for conducting practical class is not available, the students of that very particular school can avail such type of facility from the nearby school where such laboratory is available. For protecting the educational rights of students as well as for optimum utilization of manpower and to realize the full potential of such teachers, a policy for rationalization of teachers working in government schools has come into existence. It has been heard that the process of rationalization or deployment has not been judiciously implemented to lessen the lopsidedness in all educational zones. The education department has ordered for setting up the clusters where the principal of every particular Higher Secondary has been given powers in consultation with zonal education officers to rationalize or deploy the subject specific teachers in order to maintain the pupil teacher ratio. There might be many schools in every Educational zone of Kashmir where the teachers have not been rationalized  and stuck there for a long period due to their approach and behavior.
Rationalization of teachers can help to address the mammoth challenge at hand. Over half of the children are not reaching minimum standards of learning. The low status of educational outcomes is a consistent picture painted across various learning assessments be it National Achievement survey and annual status of education report. The first step to enable good quality teaching is to ensure effective teacher availability. The Right to Education Act (RTE) lays out norms for  PTR- 30:1 for primary schools and 35:1 for upper primary schools. The cluster heads must be well known about the fact that there are somes schools where the roll of the students is enough and the staff is inadequate, at such schools, rationalization should be made in such a way that problem should not arise. The cluster heads must show the sense of maturity while dealing with rationalization or deployment of teachers in secondary and higher secondary schools as it should not affect the school where teacher is being under rationalization.Still the rationalization of teachers to both Secondary and higher secondary school has so far yielded good results from the couple of years. These teachers bridged the learning gaps, the losses we had due to COVID-19 in our schools. So far as the rationalization is concerned the PTR has been effectively implemented in Schools. But it should be purely based on merits.
Under rationalization which is nowadays considered as an effective tool to maintain the pupil teacher ratio in all government schools on one hand, but on the other hand the contribution of teachers to these understaffed schools can’t be neglected. Teachers have been playing a significant role for a long time. Broadly speaking the function of teachers is to help the students learn by imparting knowledge to them and by setting up a situation in which students can learn and will learn effectively. But teachers fill a complex set of roles, which vary from one society to another and from one educational level to another. The role of a teacher is not limited to only the classroom but their different roles can be seen even outside the classroom. The teacher’s role is beyond teaching. They are more than an educator and are councillors, mentors, role models and so on to a student. Looking at the PTR ratio the students are getting enough benefits in terms of both curricular and co-curricular activities. Students are getting enough attention which somehow may be lacking before due to being understaffed in many schools.So wherever a teacher is posted or rationalized he/she can honestly nurture the students. Sharing knowledge, giving education, and teaching about life is the primary responsibility of a teacher. They must make sure that students understand what is being taught to them in the classroom or online teaching or an e-learning setup. If a teacher appreciates and boosts the confidence it will be more effective for students. With encouragement a teacher can make students cross any barrier. Students get encouragement with words of appreciation such as good job, well done, come on and keep it up. The right words at the right time can do wonders. Teachers are the builders of better tomorrow. They shape the youths today and help them to achieve something great in life. Teachers educate the candidates on unique qualities like fellow feeling, brotherhood, kindness and simplicity. So a teacher’s duty is not restricted to attending lectures and sending notes. It is something beyond it and has a vital significance in their students’ lives.
So the rationalization of teachers should be purely based on merit. The department can utilize the services of teachers at any school keeping in view of pupil teacher ratio. If any secondary school or higher secondary school has a roll of 70 students and on the other hand, a school having less role but adequate teaching staff then there is the possibility of rationalization. It is being done only for the purpose of students. Schools as per NEP2020 can avail the services of those  surplus teachers in government schools in order to remove the learning gaps raised during the pandemic. Due to clubbing of various P/S and UPS schools the ratio of teachers automatically increased and it became easy for the complex head to displace the teachers to those schools which remained understaffed for many years. Due to this the pupil teacher ratio gets easily implemented in government schools. With this adoption the general public witnessed it as a very goodwill gesture by the authorities. Before many years the schools were in dire need of subject specific teachers but as soon as the rationalization comes across it gets easily resolved. So the rationalization and deployment of teachers became the boon for the education department. No one can compromise the education of School going children. The education helps the child to become a confident individual. It teaches them how to socialise with people in society. outside their family and more. It also helps a child interact with people of different beliefs, ages, genders, backgrounds and a lot more. So rationalization means that every alternate year the sanctioned posts and the teachers working thereof in a school shall be rationalized based on the Pupil Teacher Ratio fixed by the state government from time to time. Under rationalization the surplus teachers will be first utilized by the department for ensuring deployment in those schools where there is a deficit as per student teacher norms, then for strengthening academic monitoring, improving quality education in schools etc. From the last couple of years the system of rationalization has been a successful practice in the Education Department.
– The writer is teacher by Profession teaches at BHS Diver Lolab, besides he has done Diploma in information Technology (DIT) through regional centre Rangreth Srinagar