Hyderabad: The success of the Badi Bata programme to mobilise increased admissions to schools after the Covid-induced fall in admissions has brought with it a new set of problems for a Zilla Parishad high school in Manikonda, ranging from crowding of classrooms and lack of infrastructure to staff shortages.
With insufficient benches to handle increased student load, ground seating has become a common sight, even as four to five students share a three-seater bench.
The teacher-student ratio has also been severely affected, with the school reporting a ratio of 1:90, over three times the recommended ratio of 1:30.
Science labs are also being converted into classrooms, with corridors also being used to seat students.
In several instances, multiple classes have been merged, with strengths of up to 113, due to a shortage of teachers.
There have been over 300 new admissions to the primary section, while admissions to the secondary section have doubled.
There are over 1,100 students in the secondary section and 700 in the primary section.
“At least 20-40 admission requests are received daily in the school. There are close to 90 to 100 students in each class, which is way higher than what should be maintained as per the government norms,” said M. Nayak, the headmaster for the primary wing of Manikonda ZPHS.
V. Niranjan, the headmaster of the secondary wing, said that they cannot deny admissions, as per government rules. “In another 15-20 days, primary school students will be shifted to a new building that has been pending for 4 years. Government is planning to depute more teachers or volunteers for schools,” he said.
“Students are forced to sit very close to each other and are feeling extremely frustrated and suffocated. They are very easily distracted and are unable to focus. They constantly ask us to give them a water break and a small break so that they can get some air. With students seated on the ground, there is no place for the teachers to sit or even walk around in the classrooms,” said T. Sridevi, a teacher at the ZPHS.
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