'Student-teacher ratio is 20:1 in Udupi'

District has 618 high schools and 50,863 students are pursuing their education

As per the Right to Education (RTE) Act, the student-teachers ratio should be 30:1. However, in Udupi, the ratio is 20:1.

To make education compulsory and to imrprove the quality of education, few rules have been laid down to implement the Act. The Act has given priority to providing basic infrastructure facilities in the school.

The schools in Udupi have all the basic infrastructure facilities. Accordingly, it will not be difficult in implementing RTE Act, say officials.

There are five education zones in Udupi. They are Udupi, Brahmavar, Kundapur, Baindoor and Karkala. There are 618 high schools in Udupi district and as many as 50,863 students are pursuing their education.

There are 2,538 teachers in Udupi and the ratio of teacher-student is 20:1. Hence, the government need not worry over appointing the teachers to implement the Act.
As per the available data, there are 224 aided schools in the district and 27,427 students are purusing their education.

The unaided schools in the district is 118 and as many as 33,313 students are pursuing their education. Even in aided schools, the ratio of students-teachers is 28:1. However, in unaided schools, the ratio is 43:1. The number of teachers in unaided schools should be increased.

As per the Act, the lower primary schools in neighbourhood should be situated within one kilomtre radius. The officials said the district has schools within one kilometre radius. All the schools have separate kitchens.

Udupi BEO Ashok Kamath said that the rule says that there should be separate toilets for boys and girls, separate rooms for head teacher and other teachers. The facilities are already available for the students and teachers in the schools in Udupi.
“We need not have anything new. We have a task to ensure that 25 per cent seats are reserved for weaker sections in aided and unaided schools (barring minority schools) in the district,” he said.

DDPI S Nagendra said: “We have a challenge to enrol migrant children to school. We have facilities to provide them food and lodging facilities. We have to ensure that they do not drop put of the school.”