College faculty to be rationalized in Himachal Pradesh: Govt seeks detailed data on teacher-student ratio
Diary Times News Service
Shimla, August 13:Â The Himachal Pradesh government is going to make massive changes in the deployment of teachers in government colleges as per the model already implemented in schools. The Higher Education Department has started collecting detailed data from colleges across the state to identify disparities in the teacher-student ratio, with an aim to rationalize faculty allocation.
The directive issued by the state government states that some of the staff from colleges that have a higher number of teachers will be transferred to institutions where there is a shortage of teachers. The move is aimed at balancing the distribution of teachers, ensuring that students of all subjects get adequate academic attention, while also reducing the financial burden on the state exchequer.
Confirming the initiative, Dr Amarjeet Sharma, Director, Higher Education Department, said, “We are collecting data from all state colleges to find out the current status of student strength and number of teachers. This will help us implement the same rationalisation process as in schools.”
This initiative has been taken in response to significant discrepancies observed in colleges where certain subjects, particularly minor subjects, have a reasonable number of students but major subjects have seen a drop in enrollment. Despite this, a disproportionate number of teachers are appointed to these major subjects, often leading to inefficiencies in educational delivery.
“There are colleges where the number of students is minimal yet the number of teachers is high. In contrast, other institutions grapple with overcrowded classrooms and inadequate staff, which adversely affects the quality of education,” explained Dr. Sharma.
To streamline the process, the Higher Education Department has distributed a standard form to all colleges, requesting specific data. This includes the number of students enrolled in various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes (BA, BSc, BCom, MA, MSc, MCom), the current faculty structure (assistant professors and associate professors) and the existing workload on teachers. The data collection process is intensive, requiring department heads to carefully analyze student numbers to prevent any inaccuracies.
As per established guidelines, one teacher should be allocated for every class of 40 students. However, in many cases, multiple teachers are assigned to classes with fewer students, leading to staff imbalances. The rationalization process is expected to address these issues, redistributing teachers to where they are needed the most.
This initiative is a significant step towards enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of higher education in Himachal Pradesh, ensuring that resources are allocated in a manner that best serves the student population across the state.
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