The disproportionate pupil teacher ratio in Jammu and Kashmir has been a matter of concern for a long time and the problem has remained unsolved. However, instead of relying on the bureaucratic set up to clear decks for hiring new teachers, the staff of a remote border government school in Ahangerpora village of Rafiabad area in the Baramulla district of North Kashmir took the onus of hiring a Maths teacher for the students. The staff of five teachers hired a local Mathematics teachers for the 60 students enrolled in the Government Boys Middle School, Ahangerpora.
The teachers decided to pay the Maths tutor by contrbuting a part of their salaries, setting a befitting example before the authorities who have been sluggish in their approach towards solving the problem. Incharge, Headmaster of the school, Ashraf Shah, told the Rising Kashmir that they had approached the Zonal education Officer of the area to solve the problem and he promised to do the same but according to the Incharge teacher, more than 60 students in the school weren't taught a basic subject like Mathematics which was a cause of concerm.
Hence, Ashraf along with four other faculty members decided to hire a private teacher who now teaches Mathematics to students till 8th standard. ""Earlier, we had told the Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) Dangiwacha to post a teacher in the school. The ZEO agreed and said they will try to post one or two teacher as soon as possible,"he said.
Ashraf added that the shortage of teachers in this school has also been highlighted with one of the teachers who was working on a contractual basis due to leave the school as his contract ends in two months. Ashraf said he is also not permanently posted in the school and is there on the deployment basis.
The hired teacher, zahoor Ahmad Mir said that for long the remote border area has been ignored by the authorities and that he decided to volunteer for teaching to serve the students.
The Zonal Education Officer, Harminder Singh, however, said that the new teacher will be in place after the Model Code of Conduct is withdrawn.
