Baitadi, May 7:

More than 75 per cent of schools in Baitadi district are without lady teachers.

According to the district education office, of the 1,196 teachers working in 435 government schools in Baitadi, only 108 are women teachers. Among these 108, some 32 are undergoing ’ training.

Only one woman teacher is working in one of the 82 secondary schools in the district. Rita Chand is the sole one posted at Udaydev Secondary School in Kailpal VDC of the district.

The presence of women teachers is thin at the lower secondary level also. District education officer Mahendra Chhetri said there were only six women teachers among the 222 teachers at the lower secondary level. There are 62 lower secondary schools in the district.

At the primary level also, there are only 101 lady teachers among 831 teachers in the 368 primary schools in the district. Local intellectuals said there was great gender disparity in Baitadi’s teaching sector. They added that the government had provided quota for thrice the number of women teachers at the primary level, but the quota had not been filled.

He said the disparity increased over the last few years as no new women teachers were

appointed.

“Schools have been instructed to give first preference to women teachers while making appointments, but they are not toeing the line,” he added.

There are 65,000 students at the secondary level in the whole district.