Teacher Shortage Impacted Education Quality and Increased Fees for Parents
Parents, teachers, and students have expressed concerns that educational activities at Shanti Primary School in Bhimdatta Municipality-14, Bankatti, have been ineffective due to a shortage of subject teachers for the available vacancies. Shanti Primary School, established in 1999, provides education from early childhood development classes through grade eight. However, the school currently has only three permanent teachers, two contractual teachers, and two private teachers, which is insufficient to meet the needs of the students. Although the fundamental right to education guarantees free education up to the secondary level, the government has not filled the vacant teaching positions in schools. Consequently, parents are forced to pay support fees to government schools to address the shortage of teachers.
There is currently only one teaching position available for classes 6 to 8. Principal Uttam Bista expressed concerns that, due to the shortage of qualified teachers, a single teacher has to cover all subjects and handle multiple classes simultaneously. Additionally, lower-level teachers are often assigned to teach upper-level grades. According to Principal Bista, this shortage makes it challenging to conduct regular evaluations, manage educational activities, and prepare adequate teaching materials.
Similarly, Teacher Shushila Regmi explained that the lack of teachers has forced the school to combine classes, teaching students from grades two and three in one class and grades four and five in another. This situation makes it difficult for students to understand the material and teachers to provide effective instruction. Teacher Jayaraj Joshi added that educational outcomes are poor when joint classes are conducted. She stated, “Each class is only given half the time, making it impossible to cover all the subjects in the lessons within that limited period. The curriculum cannot be completed when taught this way, and students cannot be properly evaluated.” Students have complained that having one teacher teach all subjects throughout the day reduces their interest in studying. Sunil Chaudhary, a class eight student, mentioned that the shortage of teachers negatively impacts their education. Students also noted that the lack of subject-specific teachers affects the quality of their studies.
Likewise, Madan Kunwar, a parent, stated that despite the government’s investment in education, the lack of necessary teachers means there is no effective education at Shanti Primary School. Teacher Sulochana Upadhyay added that the shortage of teachers prevents students from receiving a complete education and makes it difficult to assign and check homework. Harka Bahadur Bohora, the chairman of the school management committee, stated that despite sending requests to the relevant authorities to fill the vacant teaching positions, there has been no response, resulting in ineffective teaching. Rajendra Bhatt, Information Officer of the Education Development Coordination Unit in Kanchanpur, explained that the Teacher Service Commission has not allocated teacher positions according to the number of students, leaving most schools understaffed.
Lily Kunwar
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