Renu Kshetry

Kathmandu March 15:

Over 64 per cent schools in the mountainous and the hilly regions do not have adequate teachers as per the number of grades and most of the teachers in these regions are compelled to take classes for more than one grade at a time in a single classroom (multi-grade teaching) or classes for more than one grade at a time but in different classrooms (multi-class teaching) without any training, says a recent study carried out by the CERID.

According to a study on the existing multi-grade and multi-class teaching practice in Nepal, carried out Dr Prem Narayan Aryal for Research Centre for Educational Innovation and Development (CERID), such a situation is common in schools located in sparsely populated areas where the number of students does not increase to meet the criteria of teacher-student ratio.

According to the study, 92 per cent schools in Dhankuta, 91 per cent in Mustang and 82 per cent in Dhading are practicing Multi- Grade Teaching (MGT) and Multi-Class Teaching (MCT) due to the shortage of required number of teachers in schools for different grades. MGT or MCT becomes practically unavoidable when teachers’ number is fixed on the basis of students’ number. “We have to break away from the traditional method of mono-grade teaching especially when the government cannot increase the teachers’ quota,” said Dr Kishor Shrestha, associate professor at CERID. “We have to maximise the use of the available resources,” he said. While the government rules state that the teacher-student ratio has to be 1:40, 1:45 and 1:50 in the mountainous, the hilly and the terai regions respectively, it is only 1: 7 in Mustang, a mountainous district, and around 1:80 in most of the terai districts.

There are 20,464 government schools throughout the country with 147,677 teachers out of which only 38.85 per cent have got formal training.

Shrestha said the situation where the supply of teacher is inadequate as per the number of grades, there is a need for adopting alternative approach to deliver primary education to ensure the access to education to all the primary school-age children. Laba Prasad Tripathee, spokesperson at the Education Ministry, said, “The ministry has felt the need of multi-grade teaching method and the teachers will be given training as per the demand from the next academic year,” he said. He said the 10-month teachers’ training also includes training on MGT. “In case of schools in remote areas, it will be done with the help of school management committee,” said Tripathee. Ram Prasad Basyal, chief of the School Administration Unit at the ministry, admitted to the vast difference in teachers’ distribution. “The proportionate distribution of teachers is the most difficult task as the locals do not want to lose their teachers’ quota once they get it,” said Basyal. “However, the ministry is considering the issue.”

According to Basyal, the government had curtailed around 150 excessive teachers’ quotas and redistributed them to the needy districts in 2000, which was protested widely by the locals.