Talks between the State Government and the representatives of teachers’ association ended without any conclusion at Mantralaya, Nava Raipur Atal Nagar on Wednesday. Speaking to ‘The Hitavada’ over telephone, State President of Samagra Shikshak Federation Chhattisgarh Manish Mishra said that the talk was held between the representatives of the teachers’ associations and Secretary of School Education Department Siddharth Komal Singh Pardeshi at Mantralaya on Wednesday but it failed. The teachers’ associations demanded the State Government to withdraw the decision of rationalisations of 10,463 Government schools in State, he added. If the State government does not withdraw its decision of rationalizations of 10,463 government schools in the state, over two lakh teachers in the state will go on indefinite strike from May 31, asserted Manish Mishra. Thousands of teachers from all districts of the state staged a dharna under the banner of Sarva Shaikshik Sangathan Chhattsgarh at Tuta, Nava Raipur Atal Nagar on Wednesday, opposing the decision of rationalizations of 10,463 government schools in the state. The 2008 set up of the School Education Department should not be changed.

 

Other demands include relaxation of B.Ed training and others. A memorandum with a three point demand addressed to the chief secretary was also submitted. After dharna, the teachers moved from the dharna spot to gherao Mantralaya, but the protestors were stopped by the police in the midway. It may be mentioned that the Chhattisgarh School Education Department today announced the rationalization of 10,463 schools under the New Education Policy-2020 and the Right to Education (RTE) Act. This includes 5,849 E-category schools and 4,614 T-category schools. The process involved merging schools located within one kilometer in rural areas and 500 meters in urban areas. As per the rationalization report by Chhattisgarh’s Education Department 211 government schools across the state have no students, yet still have teachers deployed. This comes to light amidst a severe teacher shortage in remote and underserved areas.

 

The report states that in the Government Primary School of Sajabhavna has zero students but employs one assistant teacher and Harratikra school both in Surguja district’s Batouli block also with no enrolled students, has a headmaster and two assistant teachers on staff. The Education Department acknowledges these schools have lost their relevance and states that transferring these teachers to schools with actual need has begun. Conversely, many of the state’s remote and difficult-to-access regions face a critical dearth of teachers. This deficiency directly affects academic outcomes. For instance, the Government Higher Secondary School in Kunwarpur, under Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district, recorded a higher secondary examination pass rate of just 40.68% in 2024-25. This figure is considerably below the state average, largely attributed to the lack of subject-specific teachers.

 

During his visit to Kunwarpur, villagers directly appealed to Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai for teacher appointments. They emphasized that vital subjects like science, mathematics, and English have lacked dedicated teachers for years, depriving students of quality education. In response to these disparities, the Education Department has initiated a restructuring process under the rationalization plan. This involves reassigning teachers from schools with no students to those where their presence is genuinely required. Departmental sources indicate that the teacher rationalization process will be completed soon, aiming to significantly improve the state’s education system. Experts have welcomed the move, deeming it long overdue. They point out the paradox of struggling schools lacking teachers while others remain staffed despite having no students.