news details |
|
|
| Schools observe steep decline in drop-out rate | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Feb 26
The school drop-out rate in Jammu and Kashmir has gone down from 18.87 per cent to 5.88 per cent during the last five years.The reason for this is the opening of over 3500 primary schools and upgradation of over 3300 middle and high schools in the state.Notwithstanding the fact that several thousand posts of teachers were vacant the Government has succeeded,to a large extent,in reducing the teacher-taught deficit ratio by appointing about 4,000 teachers under Rehabar-i-Taleem scheme
In addition to this,English is now being taught in Government run schools from class one and the medium of instruction has been shifted to English in Maths,Science and social studies.In most of the schools the curriculum has been brought at par with NCERT syllabus so that students could go in for higher studies without any problem.For the first time 5th optional subject has been introduced at 10+2 level which includes computer sciences,biotechnology,environment science and functional English.
Senior functionaries in the Department of school education said here today that militancy related violence had caused extensive damage to the infrastructure in the department when several hundred school buildings were damaged and burnt between 1989 and 1994.They said that in the absence of proper school buildings the drop out rate had gone up during this period.However,since 1997 the state Government,with sufficient financial assistance from the Government of India,had taken in hand measures for rebuilding the damaged infrastructure.
During the last about 10 years the Government was able to construct 1540 primary school and 160 middle school buildings.About 2500 primary and middle school buildings in various parts of the state were under construction.In all over 2500 additional classrooms were constructed and work on 2600 additional classrooms was in progress.
However,a former Education Minister,Harsh Dev Singh,said that there were chances for frittering away the gains the state Government,headed by Mufti Mohd.Sayeed,had achieved between 2002 and 2005.He said that during the last three years as many as 14000 posts of teachers were vacant and a large number of teachers,posted in rural areas,had been attached enabling them to work in the cities and towns.
Harsh Dev Singh said that these two factors had resulted in "collapse of teaching activities in the rural areas."He alleged that teaching work in several hundred schools in the rural areas had become defunct.He wanted all the vacant posts be filled on the basis of merit and the services of Rehabar-i-Taleem teachers be regularised so that they exhibit greater interest in their work.(eom)
These educationsists have suggested to the Government to fill all the vacant posts of teachers under a crash programme so that the existing teacher-taught ratio was further narrowed down.And appointment rules should be governed mainly by merit and a sheme to clear promotions and annual increments of teachers on the basis of their performance be introduced which cold further lower the dropout rate. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
