Many Meghalaya schools have only two or four students: minister

Meghalaya education minister Lahkmen Rymbui told the Assembly on Wednesday that many schools in the state have only two or four students.

While the teacher-pupil ratio is 1:30, Rymbui said there are many Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) schools which are functioning with two teachers teaching only 2-4 students. “We are in the process to rationalise teachers’ placement in SSA schools so that resources of the government is not wasted,”  PTI quoted the minister.

Meghalaya has 395 lower primary schools with 808 teachers and 508 upper primary schools with 1874 teachers. On the delay of payment of salaries to school teachers, the minister said the disbursement of salaries take place as and when the funds are released from the Centre.

Replying to a call attention moved by opposition Congress MLA Mayralborn Syiem on the delay in construction of an SSA lower primary school building at Khlieh Umwang village in Ri Bhoi District, Rymbui said the lower primary school building in the village along the inter-state boundary with Assam was demolished by Assam Police.

He said the incident had taken place in August last year wherein a departmental inquiry was made. According to the report, some part of the building, which was under construction and sanctioned by the office of the Ri-Bhoi District Mission Coordinator for the year 2017-18 was destroyed by the Assam police.