5

Just how rational is this “rationalization”

From the foregoing pages, two things are apparent:

• Firstly, given the national goal of education for all and the poor overall enrollment in government schools in Indore, the Zila Sarkar’s decision to rationalize staffing in existing government schools by reducing teachers rather than by increasing students is itself irrational.
• Secondly, the measures that have been introduced in the name of rationalization do not seem to have any rational basis. This is true for transfer of teachers, for opening of new schools and for merger of existing ones.

The District Planning Committee, in exercising its powers in respect of transfers of teachers on grounds of over-staffing, should have taken note of enrollment and criteria such as performance, exam results, etc. However, in the current “rationalization” exercise teachers have been identified as being “excess” . - on the basis enrollment surveys that have been very cursorily done

• simply on the basis of shortest service (although policy suggests longest)
• disregarding even rules in respect of NCC, NSS, sports and disabled teachers As a result:
• on one hand, there are several (new) cases of over-staffing or under-staffing
• on the other hand, there is discontent among teachers and many are attending neither old nor new school, being fully occupied in getting their transfer orders cancelled

The District Planning Committee, in exercising its powers in respect of setting up new schools should have abided by the directive that these are in places where they are needed. But the 103 new schools opened in Indore are supply-driven (based on availability of community halls) rather than demand-driven, resulting in absurd situations like:

• closing an existing school and opening a new one in a community hall in the same area
• creating new poorly-attended schools to solve the problem of existing such schools!

Besides this, the “no-cost” new schools are being opened in community halls, which are:

• meant for other community activities
• often short of minimum space standards norms or suitable teaching environment
• lacking in bare necessities like furniture, boards, chalk, registers, etc

The District Planning Committee, in exercising its powers in respect of closure/merger of schools should have used criteria like poor enrolment, poor building, etc, and ensured that special concerns (like girls’ education, heritage interests, cases of good performance, etc) are duly considered. “Rationalization” in Indore, however, has entailed closure/merger of:

• well attended schools into schools that are poorly attended or not even locatable
• schools with premises in good condition into ones in dilapidated/encroached premises
• schools for boys into schools for girls
• schools functioning for long in historic premises
• schools that are well-reputed, well-attended and well-supported/equipped

Obviously such irrational measures can do nothing “rationalization” of education!