Students at a primary school in the district. (Ramen Mondal)

Balurghat, Nov. 6: Half of the 1,182 government-aided primary schools in South Dinajpur district have only two teachers, while a single teacher manages the other half.

The high court freeze on the appointment of candidates passing out from primary teachers training institutes has thrown the education scene in the district into disarray. More than 1.5 lakh students are enrolled on the government-aided primary schools in South Dinajpur.

Even though every primary school in the district has at least four classrooms, the number of institutions with four teachers has dropped down to less than five per cent of the total. Schools with adequate number of teachers are restricted only to the better-known institutions in the urban areas, sources in the district primary school council said.

The last time primary teachers were recruited in the district was in January 2006 and that too only 275, which was far less than the actual numbers required. With at least 25 teachers retiring every month, the problem has been compounded.

The dearth of teachers has left the syllabus in primary schools unfinished on one hand, the additional responsibility of providing mid-day meals to the students has made the teachers’ hands full on the other. “We have been requesting the government to relieve the teachers of the responsibility of the mid-day meal. But nothing has been done as yet,” said Subhas Ghosh, the district secretary of the RSP’s primary teacher’s wing.

“The rural schools should have proper teaching strength as the students in villages, unlike their counterparts in towns, do not get help with their studies at home,” said Manas Tokdar, the headmaster of Raghavpur High School.

Chairman of the district primary school council Apurba Sen admitted some complications in recruiting teachers. “We are hopeful that the government will soon solve the problem,” he said.