The issue of lopsided Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) continues to haunt the school education system despite repeated assurances from the authorities that corrective measures are being undertaken every year.The School Education Department (SED) routinely conducts rationalisation exercises during winter vacations, claiming that teachers will be distributed to schools according to student enrolment and actual requirement.

However, as schools reopen after the three month winter break, the ground reality remains largely unchanged. While some schools continue to struggle with an acute shortage of teachers, others remain overstaffed, exposing a glaring disconnect between official claims and administrative implementation.The persistence of this imbalance not only undermines the quality of education but also raises serious questions about the effectiveness and sincerity of the department’s annual rationalisation drive.

Ironically, most of the MLAs raise the issue of disproportionate PTR in schools but on the ground, they are often found as a part of the problem.In each Assembly Session, lawmakers express concern over teacher shortages and demand accountability from the government. Yet, away from the public glare, many of the same political representatives use their influence to secure postings for their supporters, relatives and political workers in schools of their choice, regardless of actual requirements.According to the officials, this culture of political patronage has significantly diluted the objective of rationalization in schools. Officials say that as long as the political interferences........

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