Lack of teachers forces Siraha school to teach 150 students in one room

KATHMANDU: Janata Basic School in Belhi, Balan Bihul Rural Municipality-4 of Saptari is facing a shortage of teachers, forcing students of Grades 3 to 5 and Grades 6 to 8 to share classes.

The school, which was established in 1954 near the Nepal-India border, has only two teachers for Grades 3 to 8, impacting the education of 40 children in early childhood programs and 269 students in Grades 3 to 8. The school also has two child development assistants and one office assistant.

“Due to a lack of teachers, we are conducting classes by keeping students of Grades 3 to 5 in one room, and Grades 6 to 8 in another room. About 150 students are studying in one room. It is becoming uncomfortable for both teachers and students,” Principal Netilal Yadav said.

The school has 40 students in Grade 6, 57 in Grade 7, and 54 in Grade 8. The school has one vacant post for a relief quota teacher and two permanent posts at the primary level.

The education department of the rural municipality is unaware of the problem that the school is facing. Dinesh Kumar Mandal, head of the department, said the rural municipality chairperson and ward chairperson might have knowledge about it.

Ranjana Mandal, a seventh grader at the school said: “There are no classes after 2 pm. There is no point in staying in the school after that.”

Assistant in the child development class Neelam Kumari Ram added that the learning environment is not conducive because many students are kept in one room. “Due to a lack of teachers, we have to keep three classes of students in one place. It is difficult to handle the students,” she said.

Om Prakash Yadav, a member of the school management committee, said that the problem will persist until all the vacant posts are filled.

Stating that he was aware of the problem that the school has been facing, Khem Chandra Yadav, chairperson of Balan Bihul Rural Municipality, said that the problem will be resolved soon by hiring two teachers using internal resources. He also noted that the school lacks furniture, with not even a bench for all the students to sit on.

With the help of the Social Development Unit under the Ministry of Social Development of the Madhesh Province Government, the school has begun construction of a two-room concrete building at an estimated cost of Rs 2.5 million. Principal Yadav said there are plans to build a four-room classroom which is estimated to cost Rs 5 million.
(With inputs from RSS)