MUMBAI: The state government’s revised teacher approval policy has sparked alarm among education activists and teachers’ representatives, who warn that nearly 90 government-run secondary schools in Mumbai and around 620 across Maharashtra may not receive even a single sanctioned teacher post under the new system.
They fear the move could eventually push several smaller schools towards closure.
Under the earlier policy, teacher posts were sanctioned based on a school’s total student strength. The norm allowed one teacher for every 20 students. This meant that if a school had 40 students across different classes, it was eligible for at least two teachers, irrespective of how the students were distributed across standards.
However, the new rules issued by the education department change the basis of calculation. Teacher approvals will now be granted according to the number of students in each individual standard, not the total enrolment of the school. A newly introduced software system will determine approvals based on student data recorded as of September 30 each academic year.
Teachers’ organisations say the revised system will severely affect smaller and Marathi-medium schools, many of which already face declining enrolment.
They point out that if a school runs classes from Standard 1 to 12 but does not have at least 20 students in each standard, it will not qualify for a sanctioned teacher for that class. In such cases, even if the total student strength is substantial, the school may not be eligible for any approved posts.
A government school in Matunga illustrates the concern. The school has 45 students across Standards 6 to 10 and is currently managed by two teachers. Under the earlier rule, the total enrolment would have entitled it to at least two sanctioned posts. Under the new standard-wise calculation, since no individual class has 20 students, the school may not receive even a single sanctioned teacher. The existing teachers could be declared surplus.
Shivnath Darade, executive member of the Shikshak Parishad, termed the policy “very unfair with the students who are studying in government school.” He has written to the education minister and the commissioner seeking a review of the decision. Of the 90 affected schools in Mumbai, he said, around 53 are Marathi-medium institutions.
Darade added that enrolment in government schools has already been falling and warned that such measures could indirectly hasten closures. He recalled that a previous proposal to cluster schools with fewer than 20 students was put on hold after strong opposition from teachers and activists. “Now the administration has come up with another policy that may lead to the same result,” he said.
NG Ganar, Member of the Legislative Council from the teachers’ constituency in Nagpur, has also written to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the education minister Dadaji Bhuse opposing the change. He argued that the revised method is inconsistent with existing legal provisions. “As per law, every 20 students will get one teacher. It does not talk about standard-wise bifurcation of students and approved teachers,” Ganar said, urging the government to review the decision on priority.
Education commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh was unavailable for comment despite attempts to contact him.
