MUMBAI: Over 115 Marathi-medium primary students at the Kawale Math BMC school in Walkeshwar are currently making do with a single teacher, a situation that has raised serious concerns among parents and local residents. While five teachers have been officially assigned to the Marathi section, there have been only two for a couple of months, one of whom was put on census- and election-related work, leaving the other one to shoulder the entire burden.
Currently, there are 97 students in Classes 2 to 8, while 18 new students have taken admission to Class 1 this year. With the BMC’s ongoing Mission Admission campaign, the number of students is expected to increase further.
The issue was highlighted by local resident Sanjay Shirke, who wrote to the BMC commissioner, chief minister and school education minister, demanding immediate action. “I was a student of this school myself,” he said. “The newly constructed building is good, and all the facilities are available. But if there are no teachers, who will teach the children?”
Shirke warned that parents could stop sending their children to the school if the teacher shortage continued. A fall in student numbers would make it difficult to get new teaching posts approved, he said, which could eventually threaten the future of the vital Marathi-medium section which catered to the many Marathi-speaking students in the area.
Sources stated that the school had five teachers in the last academic year. One, who was transferred to the school six months ago, was recently transferred back to his original school. Another, who was appointed on a clock-hour basis, got himself another job after his contract ended in April. Yet another teacher, who was appointed by an NGO, also left after his contract ended. Despite the fact that there were only two teachers left, the government appointed one of them for pre-SIR work, leaving only one teacher to handle the burden.
Following complaints, BMC officials visited the school on Thursday. Sources said that during the visit, officials also suggested appointing teachers on an hourly basis as a temporary arrangement until permanent appointments were made.
Kirtivardhan Kiratkudve, education officer of the BMC’s primary education department, said the administration was taking the issue seriously. “We sent officials immediately after receiving the complaints, and the head of the school has been authorised to appoint teachers on a clock-hour basis,” he said. “The BMC administration remains committed to Marathi-medium schools and is working towards recruiting permanent teachers.”
