Lessons unlearned: Teacher staffing, training lag behind in Karnataka

Bengaluru: Teaching is a fulfilling job, but guest teachers are made to work extra, on clerical tasks like data entry and report-writing,” says Bharathi (name changed), a BEd graduate. 

Bharathi has worked for the past two years as a guest teacher in a school in south Bengaluru. She recounts how she had to work until 1 am to balance these additional tasks.

Guest teachers at the school were paid Rs 10,000 per month until recently. The local MLA pitched in with an additional Rs 3,000 per month. However, even with this addition, her income is well below the Rs 25,000 remuneration that permanent teachers receive. Under these circumstances, to make ends meet, she conducts private tuition at home to bolster her income.

Teachers across schools in Karnataka face similar conditions as administrative duties increase and incomes stagnate. A 2020 study, with a sample size of 270 secondary school teachers selected randomly from government, aided, and unaided schools in Mysuru, showed that the vast majority had poor levels of job satisfaction. Very few teachers in high secondary schools had average or high levels of job satisfaction.

To make matters worse, slow hiring processes mean that many schools are functioning below capacity or with an ever-changing roster of guest teachers. The SSLC pass percentage went down this year, proving the effect of the fractured system on learning outcomes. It is also clear that children in lower grades have been severely impacted, according to the Annual Status of Education Report 2024. 

In Class 1, 32% of students cannot recognise letters, while 40% can identify letters but struggle to read words. By Class 5, just 34% can read at a second standard level, in 30 districts in Karnataka. The report also reveals widespread multigrade classroom settings: In primary schools, close to 90% of Class 1 and 2 students are learning alongside children from other grades. 

Students have come forward publicly to complain about these issues in the education system. In one such incident in a Bengaluru school, a teacher even resigned after a student questioned the quality of teaching. 

In another private school in Bengaluru, students were able to submit all assignments, but many could not pass the written examination. Teachers reason that the prevalent use of AI might have contributed. 

Experts point to multigrade setups, along with the prevalence of single-teacher schools and low-enrollment institutions, as key factors behind the alarming decline in reading and learning levels.

This year, to address some of the problems that teachers have put forward, the government increased the salary of guest teachers to Rs 12,000, through a notification dated May 23.

Bharathi thinks it is best to join a private school, as any private school would pay more for her experience. However, she also feels staying as a government guest teacher would benefit her when hiring happens for future vacancies.

Many teachers today do not have a choice in the subjects they want to teach.  When Bharathi was hired, she taught Kannada and social sciences, but was made to teach English and mathematics in her second year. Bharathi’s case is just the tip of a problematic iceberg in the education system in India at large, and the state, in particular. 

Private schools have a different problem. “Recently, I was in a panel interviewing teachers for the forthcoming academic year. The recruitment process was disheartening for many reasons. One issue that came up during recruitment was the credibility of persons who aim to be responsible for shaping the future generation,” says Muhammad Abdullah Javed, director, A J Academy for Research and Development, Raichur. 

“Teaching needs subject competency and knowledge of pedagogy. There is a shortage of qualified and competent teachers,” says Vallish Herur, an education entrepreneur who also works with an education research NGO.

The National Council for Teacher Education mandates a minimum qualification of a Diploma in Elementary Education (DEd) for primary-level teachers and a BEd for upper primary levels. 

Despite the government's directive, candidates without a subject-specific diploma or degree usually apply for teaching jobs, particularly in private schools.

“Owing to the constraints of some private schools, such as a lack of proper infrastructure and poor financial status, the management is compelled to recruit teachers for extremely low salaries,” explains Javed.

Unfilled vacancies

There are over 2.3 lakh sanctioned posts of teachers in the 47,494 government schools in Karnataka. Of this, 1.7 lakh have been filled, and there is a shortage of 62,650 teachers. 

About 12,316  appointment orders have been issued, and the government has filled the rest of the vacancies by hiring 51,000 guest teachers. Data from the Student Achievement Tracking System shows no shortage of teachers among private schools. 

Despite the concerning number of vacancies and difficulty in finding adequately qualified candidates, there also seems to be a lack of focus on teacher education and BEd graduate recruitment.

A source from the education department says there are 18,103 government seats for BEd, but there is no data on the total number of seats. There is no data or clarity on the total number of BEd or DEd graduates coming out of colleges across Karnataka either. 

A reply to an unstarred question in the Parliament shows that Karnataka has the best pupil-teacher ratio among big states in India. It is 7:1 in Anganwadis and Classes 1 and 2 (foundational), 12:1 in Classes 3 to 5 (preparatory), 16:1 in Classes 6 to 8 (middle), and 21:1 in Classes 9 to 12 (secondary).

"Since the primary school teacher-student ratio is satisfactory, we are not hiring (permanent teachers) for primary (classes 1-4) anymore," says a source from the Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT). This has also reduced the demand for DEd teachers in Karnataka.

Despite the improvement in numbers, there is no clarity on how this plays out at a granular level. The data does not account for regional imbalances and differences among schools.

Teacher trainings

The teacher trainings offered by DSERT last five to six days, and are sometimes longer, depending on the department's plan. Sometimes, teachers who take the first round are called back for the next round for a stage-by-stage training.

"We do offer training to guest teachers, but we cannot compensate for their travel and spending. Some of them still attend the trainings," says a source from DSERT.

With no guarantee that they will get hired next year, guest teachers have to attend such trainings at their own expense, while permanent teachers get paid the travel allowance and dearness allowance to attend them.

"We offer content enrichment training for teachers in science, mathematics and other subjects in IISc, Challakere. Yearly, about 150 teachers are chosen for training, and it mostly rotates; no teacher is trained again," the source from the education department explains.

AI-based digital training is also being conducted for in-service teachers. “Integrated AI-based training is being given to teachers. Smart boards have been installed in more than 2,000 schools, and more schools are being planned," he adds.

However, the fact that they are less exposed to new-age technologies does not make the government teachers any less, says Vallish. “We work with government teachers. I can vouch for their skills; they are highly competent because they undergo rigorous training. They just need to be reoriented to suit present needs,” he adds.

There needs to be a better system to effectively leverage the teachers’ skills. “The system pulls teachers in many directions; they are tasked with other work in the school, including documentation and midday meals,” he says.

Vallish explains that teacher training has not changed to meet the evolving needs of society today. “Schools should look at enabling students’ competencies. The National Education Policy also talks about competency in learning. Courses should involve training teachers in this aspect,” he says. 

The policy lays out that a teacher’s education should include a four-year integrated teachers’ education course. Regular universities should be able to provide such courses. However, such courses are yet to be offered in an accessible way. 

There is a need to evaluate and upskill regularly after hiring. “A first-time teacher will not be very confident in class. After three to four years, the government can make teachers undergo a course or a programme to re-establish their credentials and become eligible to continue or to go to the next level,” suggests Vallish. Thus, career progression with financial incentives can be offered to teachers to discourage stagnancy and encourage upskilling and evolution, he adds. 

The private school dilemma

Even in private schools, which are thought to provide quality education, the quality of teaching still remains questionable. The state government sets certain norms and standards for granting permission to start schools. “But the authorities yield to various types of pressures and flout norms to grant permission. That is how schools without proper infrastructure come up. They then hire unqualified or untrained teachers. Ultimately, children suffer," says Professor T V Raju, director of planning, R V Educational Institutions.

“Private school teachers also keep shifting schools, which greatly affects the continuity in their methods,” says Javed.

“Private schools do not generally offer training to teachers, for the fear that they will quit and go to other organisations for a higher salary,” says Vallish.

“The outcome is obvious: Children's future rests with persons who seriously lack the pedagogical knowledge, idea of curriculum design, classroom management skills, practical strategies for assessment and evaluation,” Javed adds.

Once teachers are recruited, the focus should be on ‘damage control’, say some educationists. “I am not advocating the enrolment of unqualified teachers in schools, but since there seems to be a common practice of recruiting such teachers, the effective exercise is to empower them with the basics of teaching, followed by regular assessment and training,” says Javed.

Changing role of teachers

In the digital age, there is also nearly unlimited access to information. “Earlier, the teacher was the primary source of knowledge. Today, students have alternative sources of information, presented in attractive formats, and they could learn much more than what teachers can tell them,” says Vallish. 

In such a context, the role of the teacher must evolve to focus on building the capabilities of the students. “Learning has to be contextually relevant. The examples given and the methodology used should be adapted. A one-size-fits-all solution does not work, but that is what is happening now,” he adds.

The first step towards change is instilling a sense of greater responsibility, says Javed. “The responsibility of teachers goes beyond teaching a particular set of students in a particular setting and beyond the vicinity of a school. The future of students, at large, rests on how they are taught and trained at school,” he adds.

New-age tools

"Earlier, the department had banned the use of phones in schools to avoid misuse. Now, phones are permitted for academic use with the permission of the head teacher,” says an education department official.

The increasing use of AI tools in teaching and evaluation has garnered both support and opposition. While teaching tools and visual learning platforms have seen greater use, educators emphasise that they cannot be stand-ins for quality teaching.

AI cannot replicate human feelings, emotions and the connection which teachers have with their students, says Sahana Prasad, a guest faculty at BITS Pilani. “The primary decision-maker is the faculty, and AI can be a supplement, not a substitute,” she explains.

Also, “Not all students and campuses have access to AI tools, which need internet connectivity, updated software and hardware, and technical training for teachers. This might lead to a greater divide in the education space,” she says. 

Quote - There was a difference in the way SSLC examinations were conducted this year. We have started installing cameras in examination halls over the last two years. This has made students realise that they have to study hard and teachers are putting in more effort as well. Over 75 per cent of the students who passes scored 70 per cent and above - Department of State Educational Research and Training official