Guwahati, April 1: Nearly 3,000 schools in Assam have been functioning with only one teacher, whereas 12,731 schools in the state are facing a shortage of teachers with the state unable to maintain student- teacher ratio as per the RTE Act.
It has been learnt that many schools lack drinking water facility and have infrastructure issues.
While replying to a query from Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi, the state Education Minister Ranoj Pegu on Thursday said, “Currently in 2,979 lower primary schools in Assam, a single teacher is running the whole school. The prescribed student-teacher ratio according to the Right to Education Act, 2009, could not be maintained in 12,731 schools across the state.”
After the minister’s reply, it has been learnt that many schools in Assam lack sufficient infrastructure, including the system of providing drinking water.
“As many as 1,616 schools do not have the facility of pure drinking water, while 1,140 schools need pukka buildings. A total of 511 schools across the state still do not have electricity connections,” Pegu further informed.
Under the state government’s Vidyanjali scheme, alumni and well-wishers donated a total of 71,356 fans to schools. Even after that, schools in Assam still require at least 48,649 fans.
