UNESCO school report: 60% schools in Maharashtra have access to ICT, 14% vacant posts for teachers

Vacancy in teaching posts stands at 14% in Maharashtra (nearly 33% of this requirement being in rural areas), states the report

Mumbai: During the lockdown, nearly 80% of teachers and students struggled to conduct and attend regular lectures due to lack of internet or computing devices. However, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s State of Education Report (SOER) 2021 highlights that nearly 60% of schools in Maharashtra were equipped with Information and Communications Technology (ICT). According to the report, the state has just 3% of schools with a single teacher, but 91% of these are situated in rural areas.

UNESCO)’s State of Education Report (SOER) 2021 highlights that nearly 60% of schools in Maharashtra were equipped with Information and Communications Technology (ICT). (HT)

Vacancy in teaching posts stands at 14% in Maharashtra (nearly 33% of this requirement being in rural areas), states the report.

“Maharashtra state has provisioned better for teachers than the national average. The state has also put in place a robust teacher selection process and has a high percentage of qualified teachers, less than 1% of them are unqualified for the job across primary and secondary sections,” the report states and adds that the pre-primary section, however, strikes a note of caution with nearly 2.84% teachers unqualified in the state.

While all India report was released in Delhi in October last year, a state-specific report was released on Wednesday in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Training and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), as the research partners for the report.

Maharashtra along with Karnataka and Bihar are states, where qualified teachers apply and go through a selection process to become block and cluster resource persons, while also ensuring adequate representation of women in the teaching community.

As per the report, Maharashtra has a total of 1,098 teacher training institutes, which is the highest in the country. The state also boasts of the second-highest number (94) of Rehabilitation Council of India-approved institutes for special education, the highest being in Uttar Pradesh (158).

Experts have also shared recommendations to improve the state of education, with the main focus being on better working conditions and improved pathways for career advancement and professional growth for teachers. It also highlights the need for better recruitment of teachers across domains, including arts and sports.

“The pandemic has shown us the importance of teachers and the need to support them, adapt and respond to challenges. Investing in teachers is the best preparation for the future,” said Shalini Bharat, director of TISS.