TimesView Kids from different classes crammed in one room only highlights the woeful shortage of resources in government schools. It’s no surprise then that many of these students fail to grasp fundamental concepts, especially in subjects like in mathematics, which recently came to the fore through the Annual Status of Education Report. While the authorities blame low student strength, they need to take remedial measures like upgrading infrastructure and appointing teachers to up enrolment. The goal of primary education is to mould young minds and build a strong foundation, and conducting combined classes only defeats the purpose.

BENGALURU: Students of classes 1 to 7 are taught in a single classroom at Government Higher Tamil and Kannada School on Thimmaiah Road. If this is the situation at a government school in the heart of the state capital, what must be the ground reality at institutions in Karnataka ’s hinterland is anybody’s guess.According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2018, class 2 children from 87.5% of the primary schools in Karnataka share their classroom with students from one or more other classes. In upper primary schools, the percentage stands at 82.9%. Class 4 children share classrooms with others in 76.6% of the primary schools, while the percentage is 38.3% in upper primary institutions.“We used to have two teachers, including me. After one of us was sent on deputation to another school, I am conducting all classes in one classroom,” said a teacher from the school on Thimmaiah Road, on condition of anonymity.The school has only two classrooms and one of them has been converted into a store room. According to education department officials, classes are combined when a school’s student or teacher strength is low.Activists, though, point out that it’s a violation of the RTE Act. “According to the Act, the pupil-teacher ratio should be 30:1, but that doesn’t mean students from all classes will be congregated in one classroom and a teacher will be asked to manage and teach them. This will certainly impact the learning quality as students may get distracted by the sessions being held for other classes in the same space. This is a blatant violation,” said Nagasimha G Rao, convener, RTE Task force.The ASER report covers 29,312 children in the age group of 3 to 16 from 848 government primary schools.