MUMBAI: Around 18,000 students are without a teacher in the city’s aided schools. Since last year’s ban on recruitment of new teachers, schools are grappling with an acute shortage. Mumbai, with 792 aided schools, is short of 630 teachers.

A ban on recruitment of teachers for subjects like English, Mathematics and Science was lifted in May 2013, but the government is yet to approve new appointments to vacant posts. “We have received requests from many schools. We have forwarded them to the state government,’’ said NB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai division.

In some schools, the shortage of teachers is so severe that parents are volunteering to teach students. At Fatimadevi English High School, Malad, parents of three students along with few former students students from Classes 7 to 10.

The school PTA was worried about the shortage of teachers for Class 10 students and suggested that parents could help out. “It’s not fair to the students that parents who are not qualified as teachers are conducting classes, but we are helpless,’’ said Rajesh Pandya, senior teacher from the school.

The shortage has also affected Class 10 and Class 12 students in other schools. “We do not have an Economics teacher for Class 12 since October last year and have not yet received approval for a new teacher,’’ said Najma Kazi, principal of Anjuman –IIslam’s High School and Junior College, Byculla.

Tired of waiting, the bigger aided-schools have begun hiring new teachers and paying them on their own. “After six teachers retired from the school, we hired new teachers. The management is paying their salaries,’’ said Father Francis Swamy, principal of Holy Family School, Andheri.

But without government approval, such appointments are not permanent. Approvals are necessary as aided school teachers are paid by the government. “Our management bore the expense of hiring four teachers. But the teachers will remain insecure until the department approves their appointment,’’ said Father Jude Fernandes, principal, St Stanislaus School, Bandra.

 

According to UNICEF, the Government of Maharashtra, needs funds to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore to bridge gaps between the current state of infrastructure and the desired levels in schools in the state as per RTE (Right to Education) Act 2009.

 

UNICEF in partnership with the Government is engaged in analysing data collected and submitted by  education officers of every district in the state.

 

Schools are judged basis ten infrastructure  parameters; building, head master’s room, one  classroom per teacher, ramp for disabled, separate washrooms for girls and boys, drinking water facility, kitchen shed, boundary wall and playground.

 

A two-day RTE stock-taking workshop was arranged by the State Education Department where UNICEF shared data and guidelines as to how can schools better the situation.

 

“The RTE Act came about in 2009 to be implemented in 2010. There was a three-year deadline given to states to meet the parameters. 31st March 2013 was the last day for it. Hence this workshop has been arranged to take a review of where does Maharashtra stand. In my opinion it is a bold step to come out and to share what all has been done so far,”

said Reshma Agarwal, education specialist, UNICEF.

 

Maharashtra is the second state apart from Orissa to hold such a review. The state of Chhattishgarh is now next in line to have such a stock-tacking.

 

According to provisional data, out of 67718 government and local body schools, only 10% schools comply with all the ten parameters.

There is an external third-party which will validate and release the final numbers within a month.