Lone teacher for 43 students at Ludhiana village’s school

Residents expressed concern over the situation, with many opting to send their children elsewhere. Gurdev Singh, a village resident, highlights the stark contrast with Bhattian Primary School, boasting five teachers for 150 students

At Government Primary School in Changan village, a lone teacher is managing everything from meal plans to paperwork. With a staggering 43 students spanning nursery to class 5, the workload is overwhelming. This lone educator, Amanpreet Kaur, who joined on May 16, 2024, finds herself stretched from dawn to dusk.

The lone educator, Amanpreet Kaur, who joined on May 16, 2024, finds herself stretched from dawn to dusk. (Manish/HT)

“I’m constantly on my toes,” says Amanpreet, who juggles teaching six subjects alongside countless other responsibilities. From sourcing mid-day meal rations to compiling polling lists, her duties are endless. Despite her best efforts, the sheer volume of work leaves little time for focused teaching.

Residents expressed concern over the situation, with many opting to send their children elsewhere. Gurdev Singh, a village resident, highlights the stark contrast with Bhattian Primary School, boasting five teachers for 150 students. Meanwhile, at Changan Village School, Amanpreet is left to manage alone, with minimal support from the authorities.

She said, “I go to Punjab Book Depot in Mullanpur twice a month to take ration for the mid-day meals and every day I go in the village to bring groceries and fruits for the children. In addition to this, I am mostly engrossed in clerical work and there is very little time to educate the students. Moreover, I am teaching the nursery class students and other standards also which is very difficult to manage”.

Compounding the issue is the lack of resources for the Mission Samrath curriculum. An elderly woman working in the school highlighted the burden on Amanpreet, who juggles multiple roles without adequate support.

The task of managing mid-day meals further adds to her workload. From procuring ingredients to ensuring timely distribution, the process demands meticulous attention, diverting focus from teaching.

Administrative tasks, such as maintaining registers and admissions, present additional challenges. With student information to document and enrollment procedures to manage, Amanpreet’s time is stretched thin, leaving little room for individual student support.

The elderly school employee said, “Only the teacher is handling all the chores such as bringing vegetables, fruits and ration apart from maintaining registers and other basic works. Students are not getting quality education due to overburdening one teacher”.

Lalita Arora, district education officer (elementary) said, “I was not aware of this issue, and I will depute one more teacher there soon so that students do not face any problem”.